Father and Son
by Drizzt's BF
Summary: After Yusei and Akiza marry and have a son, Alex, Yusei's sudden disappearance forces Alex to step into his father's shoes and save the world again. Rated for sexuality.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: So, I'm restarting cuz i didn't like the way i did this earlier. So I'm actually gonna start off with a little Yusei/Akiza cuz I think they're cute and I want to start by putting their relationship together and stuff for this first chapter. Sooooooo...yeah.**

**Chapter one:**

**Meant to Be**

Yusei felt the wrench as Crow placed it in his outstretched hand. His head was under his Duel Runner. He clasped his fingers around the wrench and brought it under the Runner. He placed the wrench around a bolt and tightened it, making sure it would hold during a Turbo Duel.

It had been several months since he had saved the world for the second time during the WRGP. He felt like, for once in his life, he didn't have to look out for anybody except himself and those close to him. He smiled at the thought. _Those close to him..._He thought about all his friends: Crow, Jack, Luna, Leo, Trudge, Mina...Akiza.

Akiza. Yusei warmed at the thought of her. His friends, even his sudo-parent Martha, had teased him about his relationship with Akiza. He always insisted they were just friends, but even he had to admit there was something special there. He would never admit it to anyone though. Honestly, he was embarrassed about it. He had never taken an interest in girls or dating or relationships. Hell, he'd never been kissed.

But when Akiza was around he just wanted to melt into her arms. But he knew he couldn't play his hand yet. If he revealed his feelings and Akiza didn't return them...he would be devastated.

Their relationship had grown over the past few months. Akiza had turned eighteen yesterday, and the celebration had been incredible. Her parents had stayed up all night the night before and decorated the entire house for her. They'd even called Yusei and Luna to come over while she was sleeping to help.

They'd set up a banner for her that read 'Happy Eighteenth Akiza!' Yusei had even tried to help bake her cake, but the group had eventually decided that that was an inherently bad idea. But the four of them together had managed to make all the preparations that night and get Yusei and Luna out of the house before Akiza woke up. Yusei had taken Luna home on his Duel Runner and gotten back to the flat he shared with Jack and Crow before they awoke either.

Then, at 9:00 sharp, Yusei showed back up. He had managed to get to the mall that morning before he left for her house, and had gotten her something he'd seen her eyeing on their last...well...not-a-date-that-was-actually-a-date-but-neither-of-them-would-admit-it, at the mall. It was an intricate necklace with a charm in the shape of a rose, the flower that had come to be her icon. He had had to borrow money from Jack to get it, and had no idea how he was going to pay him back, but he knew it was worth it to get Akiza something she'd really like.

When he arrived at her house, he found that the festivities had already started. Jack and Crow were already there, as were Leo, and Luna. The six Signers had become really close. The fact that they were the only ones present was testament to that.

Yusei hurried into the house, not wanting to be late. When he entered, everybody stopped chatting and looked at him. He scanned them and after a moment said, "What the hell are you all looking at me for? It's Akiza's birthday! Come on people! Let's make her feel like a queen!" And with that he'd joined the festivities.

Yusei shook off the memory. He needed to focus. He needed to fix his bike. But her eyes when she'd opened the box with the necklace in it...she'd looked so happy. She'd flung her arms around him and told him that she loved it. He loved it when he made her smile. He couldn't help but cherish that moment.

"Yus, you okay under there?" Crow called.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking 'bout something," Yusei called back.

Crow leaned down so he could see Yusei. "You feelin' alright man? You never get caught daydreamin' when you're workin' on your bike," he said.

"Yeah, it's important...," Yusei said.

"Oh?" Jack's call came from across the room. "It wouldn't be about a certain female Signer would it?"

"Give it a rest, guys," Yusei said, exasperated. "Akiza and I are just friends."

"Yeah, cuz her asking you to stay over late alone after her birthday constitutes 'just friends,'" Jack said, packing the words with as much sarcasm as possible.

"Yeah, just like your coffee dates with Carly, Jack? I take it those constitute 'just friends' too," Crow said, doing his very best to keep a straight face.

"That's different!" Jack shot back defensively.

Yusei had stopped paying attention to their bickering after Jack had mentioned that Akiza had asked him to stay after everyone else had left her birthday party.

"Well, we better get going," Crow said.

"Yeah. We gotta get our Runners back in top form," Jack said.

"I guess you guys are right...," Yusei said, not wanting to leave yet. The three headed for the door, Jack exiting first, followed by Crow. Before Yusei could go though, Akiza called out.

"Do you really have to go yet, Yusei? I'd love it if you could stay just a few more minutes...," Akiza trailed off.

Yusei checked his watch. 9:23. He looked out to Jack and Crow, who were looking back toward him curiously. Then he looked back at Akiza, sitting on the couch in the main room. He turned back to his friends outside, "You guys go ahead. I'll catch up in a few minutes." He turned away from the door and walked back over to Akiza. Akiza smiled again, which made Yusei's heart light up.

"I'm really happy I met you, Yusei," Akiza said.

"Yeah, me too," Yusei said genuinely.

"You're such a great friend to me," Akiza said. Yusei's heart dimmed back down. There was that word again. _Friend. _Couldn't they ever be anything more? He wanted to tell her how he felt at that moment, but he just didn't know how. He'd never dealt with girls before. He hadn't ever even had a crush. Until Akiza. She just...lit up his day. There was no other way to put it.

"You, too," Yusei said, masking his despair. He looked up at her smiling face, and decided everything would be alright.

Yusei again shook his head clear. Jack and Crow had calmed down and were now sitting in the living area of their small flat. Yusei, realizing he wasn't going to get anything done today, slid out from under his Runner and walked up the stairs into the main room.

"Get it fixed, Yusei?" Jack asked.

"No. I can't concentrate," Yusei replied.

"Man, are you okay? You're not actin' like yourself," Crow said worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just got stuff on my mind," Yusei replied.

"Well, it must be important if you can't even concentrate on your Runner," Crow replied.

"Yeah. What's up, Yusei? What's on your mind?" Jack said. Even he sounded concerned, which was really saying something.

Yusei remained silent for a while. "It's...," he started. "It's just that...," he trailed off again. Then, mustering his willpower and his courage, he simply said, "Akiza."

"Jeez, Yusei. Never thought you'd have a girl distract you from your Runner," Crow teased.

"Me either. Sounds like someone's got quite an infatuation," Jack followed up.

"Oh, come on guys. You of all people should have realized by now that I really like her," Yusei said.

"Indeed we have," Jack said.

"Yeah, it's no big secret Yusei. I mean, the way you get around her...," Crow said, supporting Jack.

Yusei sighed. "Is it really that obvious?" he asked.

"Yes, Yusei, it really is. Everyone knows. Except for Akiza, that is. How she doesn't is a mystery to the rest of us," Jack said as if he was talking to a five-year-old. Yusei slumped into a chair.

"I just don't know what to say to her," Yusei said.

"Hey man, just so you know, I've been training with Akiza lately, and she's _always _talkin' about you," Crow said.

Yusei perked up. "Really?"

"Yeah. She always wants to know how you're doing and how everything's going and yata yata yata," Crow replied.

"I don't know...What if she really does just think of me as a friend?" Yusei said, falling back into his self-doubt. Crow turned to Jack, a worried look on his face. Yusei had never doubted himself. He'd always been confident things would go his way, but this situation with Akiza was totally killing his confidence.

Jack stood up and walked over to Yusei. Then, without hesitation, he grabbed Yusei by the jacket and yanked him up from the chair. "You listen here, Yusei. You're going to go right over to Akiza's house right now and tell her exactly how you feel," Jack said. He then proceeded to throw a sucker punch into Yusei's stomach. Yusei nearly vomited and slumped back down in the chair.

"Okay," he strained to say.

"Good," Jack said. He pulled Yusei up from the chair for a second time, but this time he walked him over to the door to the garage and shoved him out the door.

"But Jack, my Runner is barely holding up!" Yusei protested.

"It made it over there last night didn't it?" Jack replied over his shoulder.

"Hmmmmm...," Yusei said, unable to deny his point. But even so, he grabbed the wrench he'd discarded and slid back under his Runner and again tried to tighten the loose bolt that had been frustrating him for the last week. He came to no avail, however, and and decided to just live with it and get over to Akiza's before Jack murdered him and scrapped his Runner.

He hopped on his Runner and sped off toward Akiza's house in the downtown area. He took surface streets the whole way, trying to prolong his preparation time. As much as he was nervous about the whole ordeal and almost turned back several times, he knew Jack was right. The longer he bottled up these feelings, the more difficult it would be.

Finally, after an hour of navigating the roads, he arrived at her front door. He still had no idea what he was going to say. But despite all that, he mustered his confidence and knocked. Akiza's mother answered the door.

"Oh, hello Yusei. How are you?" she asked.

"I'm good," he said, with a well-feigned smile, "how are you?"

"I'm well," she replied.

"Could I talk to Akiza?" Yusei asked politely.

"Of course," she said with a smile. "Let me go get her." Yusei nodded and waited after she closed the door. He heard her call to Akiza and a few moments later Akiza and her mother appeared at the door.

"I'll leave you two alone," Mrs. Izinski said with a wink. Yusei had to hold back a sigh. Even Akiza's mother knew. Great.

"Hey there, Yusei," Akiza said.

"Hey, Akiza," Yusei responded. He suddenly got an idea. "Would you like to come for a ride with me?" he asked.

"Of course," she said happily. "Let me go get my Runner..."

"Actually, I was thinking...maybe you could just ride with me...," Yusei said, trying to keep the nervousness out of his voice.

"Oh...okay," she looked puzzled, but shrugged it off. Yusei took her hand and led her down to his Runner. He slid into the seat and had Akiza get on behind him. He waved his hand over a sensor and two helmets slid out. He took his own and passed the other to Akiza. She put it on and they were off.

Yusei knew the perfect place. It was a twenty minute drive to where he wanted to go. He hit the freeway and picked up speed. Akiza held his waist tighter, pressing her body against his back. He pulled off the freeway ten minutes later. He had been into this area of town before, and knew it would be the perfect place.

He came to a stop outside a garden. He kicked his leg over the bike to dismount, then helped Akiza off. She smiled at him. He led her deep into the garden searching for the perfect spot. He finally found it, near the center. He turned around, facing her.

"What's up, Yusei?" Akiza asked. "Why the romantic walk in the garden?"

"So you picked up on that?" he asked with a slightly disappointed smile.

"Yes," she said, laughing nervously.

"Look Akiza. The reason for the romantic walk is because...it's because I...it's because I love you, Akiza," Yusei confessed.

Akiza looked shocked. Then surprised. Then sad. Then shocked again. Then...happy.

"Yusei...I...I...I love you, too," she said. Yusei's smile went from ear to ear. Akiza shuffled her feet. Yusei stepped slightly closer to her. She looked up at him and smiled. She went slightly up on her toes. Yusei let his forehead come forward slightly and touch Akiza's. Then they both moved together. Their lips met, and didn't part for a long moment. When they finally did, every ounce of nervousness was gone. Akiza smiled again.

"I love it when you smile," Yusei said quietly. Akiza didn't bother to respond. She just kissed him again. Yusei had one hand on her waist. His other hand ran slowly through her hair. Akiza laced her fingers behind Yusei's neck. Yusei slid his second hand down to her waist, where he laced his own fingers.

Yusei began to open his mouth slightly, and Akiza followed suit. Before either of them knew it, their kiss had turned into a full-on make out session. They stayed there, completely in love, in that picture perfect scene, for what felt like hours. In truth, it was about five or six minutes of solid liplock.

When they finally did separate, they both had to take a few deep breaths. Akiza stared deep into his eyes, searching them. Yusei returned her deep stare. He moved toward her lips again, and she obliged him. It wasn't as passionate as their previous embrace, but neither of them had any complaints. They again came apart and again fell back into each other. They repeated this process multiple times that night.

Finally, Akiza pulled away and said, "If I don't get home soon, my parents are gonna get suspicious..." Yusei gave a sad smile but knew she was right.

"Alright," he said. He led her back out of the garden and back to where his Runner was parked. He helped her on and then kicked his leg over and handed Akiza a helmet. And with that, they sped off toward her house.

Yusei again elected to take only surface streets, this time to prolong his time with Akiza. As she held tight to his waist, he couldn't help but notice how her breasts pressed into his back. He began to imagine how soft they would be...he shook his head and concentrated on the road. No good in crashing.

Half an hour later, they arrived back at Akiza's house. Yusei walked her to the door, where he kissed her goodnight and allowed her to go back inside.

Akiza could barely sleep that night. All she could think about was how amazing it had felt to finally kiss Yusei. She'd dreamed about it before, but had never thought that the hardened duelist would ever feel the same about her. When they kissed, it had felt like everything was right. And now all she could do was think about how beautiful that moment had been. Finally, replaying the moment over and over, she drifted off.

Yusei pulled back into his garage after his long night out. He quietly slipped into the flat doing his absolute best not to wake either of his friends. To his dismay, they were both still awake. When he slipped into the darkened room. The lights were immediately flipped on and he was thrown onto the couch.

"So, Yusei? I certainly hope you weren't out crying on your Duel Runner all that time," Jack said.

Yusei, hardly able to hold in the excitement still coursing through him, recapped for them what happened. However, he left out the face-sucking that had occurred in the garden. His friends listened intently to his recap silently.

After Yusei finished, Crow piped up, "Yus, I have to admit, I have a hard time believing that you and Akiza just chilled in that garden after your 'romantic walk' _and _after you popped the question. You sure there wasn't something more...intimate going on between you two? Hmmm?"

Yusei laughed. "Fine Crow, if you must know, we, uhh, made out. So to speak," Yusei said awkwardly.

"Ho ho ho. Looks like Yusei put on his big boy pants," Crow said.

"Indeed," Jack said, looking impressed with his friend.

"Shut up," Yusei said, though he wasn't really mad.

"No need to get angry, Yus. We're just impressed that you're finally thinking about something other than your Runner," Crow said.

"Yeah. I never thought you'd even have a girlfriend. I thought you'd already married that thing," Jack teased. The two continued to make fun of their friend throughout the night. Yusei took it well, just happy that he and Akiza were finally together.

_3 Years Later_

Yusei and Akiza sat on a small peddle boat dock on the edge of New Domino, feet dangling in the water. It was dark outside, and the sky was clear that night. Yusei wore cargo shorts and a black sleeveless shirt. Akiza wore a black tube-like mini-skirt and pink tee-shirt.

Yusei reached out and wrapped his arm around her waist, and Akiza leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder. Yusei slipped his hand into his pocket wrapping his hand around the small box he had stored away. He withdrew his hand from his pocket and zipped it shut.

Akiza flipped around so she was straddling him on her knees. She leaned down and kissed him. Yusei closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her. Then, without warning, he threw his weight forward and launched them both into the water. Akiza squealed as she felt herself go over the edge, still in Yusei's arms.

They plunged feet-first into the water. A few seconds later, they both surfaced with huge smiles on their faces. Yusei took her hand and they swam to the beach, where they flopped out on the sand. Akiza took Yusei's hand, and turned her head toward him. Yusei continued to stare into the sky, looking at the stars and tracing constellations.

He pointed up into the sky. "See that?" he said. "That constellation is Stardust Dragon," he continued, tracing the stars with his finger. Akiza followed his finger and smiled.

"And that there," he said, moving his finger slightly to the left. "That's Black Rose Dragon." He turned his head to face Akiza. "I think there's a reason they're next to each other in the sky." Akiza's smile went ear to ear, and she kissed him so forcefully that Yusei almost jerked his head back out of surprise.

Yusei rolled onto his side and wrapped his arms around Akiza's waist. He rolled onto his back with Akiza in tow, so she was laying on top of him. It reminded Yusei of their first kiss, back in the gardens. He opened his eyes slightly. It was time.

He rolled so that Akiza was back on the soft sand of the beach. Then he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into a sitting position. She frowned at him.

"What's up?" she asked, puzzled. Yusei reached into his pocket. He had planned this moment for the last month. He mustered his nerve, and slid the box out. It was black felt, so Akiza couldn't see it in the night. He closed his eyes and took one last breath to steady himself.

He turned to her. "Akiza Izinski," he started. He pulled the box up into view and flipped it open, revealing a gorgeous diamond ring. "Will you marry me?"

Akiza stared at the ring, completely dumbfounded. "I...I...Yusei, I...," she stumbled. Yusei bit his lip. Had he made his move too early? Akiza took a breath to steady herself. She closed her eyes for a long moment. Then she opened them again.

"Yes."

Yusei didn't bother trying to hold back the tears. He launched himself forward into her arms. They just sat there, wrapped in each other's arms, for a long time. Yusei had tears running down his cheeks.

"I love you, Akiza," he said.

"I love you, too, Yusei," she said. Yusei could tell she was sobbing, too. It was so perfect. Yusei shifted his hands on her back, pulling her in closer. Akiza pulled back, a small smile on her face, and tear streaks on her face.

"Akiza Fudo...," she said.

"I like the way that sounds," Yusei said, staring into her eyes.

"Me too." She laughed. Then she let him pull her back into his arms. So perfect.

Crow, Jack, and Yusei all sat in the huge, catered balcony area in the stands of the 6th WRGP. The spot was reserved for VIP's, such as the winners of the first WRGP. They sat at a bar table on the edge, looking down on the track. A waiter scurried up and they ordered drinks, which arrived moments later.

"So what's the deal, Yus?" Crow asked. "Why'd you ask us to come to this? We've never shown up before."

"Yeah. What's the deal, Yusei?" Jack continued.

"I mean, we're enjoying it and all, but it never seemed like you would go and _watch _a Turbo Duel," Crow said.

"Honestly guys, I've got a bunch of stuff going on, and I thought this would be a good way to relax," Yusei answered, absently stirring his drink.

"You alright, Yusei?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, man. You seem a bit down," Crow continued.

Yusei sighed, and offered a sad half-smile. "It's...it's Akiza," Yusei said.

"Oh no," Crow said, his own expression falling. "What happened, man?"

Yusei stared at the table. "Well...it's just...," Yusei started. Then he looked up at his two friends, an enormous smile spreading on his face. "It's just that Akiza and I are getting married." He beamed at the two, dropping his sad facade.

Crow gaped, but then the corners of his mouth turned up and he smiled wide. "Congratulations! I'm so happy for you two!" he said, jumping out of his chair.

"Congratulations, Yusei," Jack said, sounding genuinely happy for his friend. Yusei laughed and smiled wide.

"You guys are the best!" he yelled.

_10 months later_

Yusei was dressed in a suit for the first time in his life. He stood with his hands clasped, looking around. Then the music started. He heard the cheesy piano music play. But all thoughts of how bad the music was flew away when he saw the one thing he cared most about in the world: Akiza Izinski. She was dressed in a beautiful white dress that fell to the floor. She stepped in time with the music, slowly making her way towards him.

She arrived at the altar and the proceedings began with many "so long as you both shall live"s and "I do"s. It seemed to fly by as Yusei stared into Akiza's eyes.

"You may now kiss the bride," the minister said. Yusei leaned down and their lips met. The applause rolled as they melted into each other. Yusei was no longer paying attention to what the minister said. He was too focused on the women in front of him, that he loved more than anything in the world.

The rest of the wedding flew by. There was dancing and eating and all the wedding stuff, but the day hadn't even begun until the private party at Akiza's house began.

Yusei, with Akiza off the ground in his arms, crossed into her house. She had moved out, with all the inheritance she'd gotten at 18, at 20. Now she had a huge house that they would live in.

Behind them came Jack, Crow, Carly, Luna, Leo, and Mr. and Mrs. Izinski. The Izinski's had brought wine and other drinks, including non-alcoholic for the twins. Akiza and Yusei went into the kitchen and brought out a huge amount of food.

"LET'S PARTY!" Crow yelled. Yusei laughed, grabbed Akiza around the waist, lifted her off the ground, and swung her in a full circle before setting her back down. The Izinski's laughed at the all the 20 year olds and how much they still acted like the teenagers who had saved the world. Jack popped the cap off a beer bottle and raised it in the air.

"To Yusei and Akiza, two of the best friends I've ever had and now a happily married couple," he said.

"Amen to that," Yusei called out before spinning Akiza toward him and kissing her. Their friends piped up with cheers again. When they parted, Akiza smiled wide and broke down in a laughing fit.

"This is amazing!" she said. Then somebody got the idea to turn the boombox on. Music blared loudly throughout the house. Crow popped open another beer, jumped on one the living room couches and kicked his feet up on the coffee table.

"Come on Yusei, Akiza! Or really, I guess I can just call you 'the Fudo's' now!" Crow called. "The Fudo's" laughed hysterically, and dropped onto another couch. Yusei kicked up his feet and popped open a beer. Akiza turned on her side and pressed up against her new husband.

The Izinski's each poured themselves a glass of wine, then handed one to their daughter. Each of the twins opened up a can of Coke and laughed. All Time Low played on the boombox.

"Cheers!" Yusei yelled, shoving his bottle in the air. Everyone in the room followed. Yusei turned his head to Akiza, clinked his bottle against her wine glass, and kissed her for the millionth time that day. Laughs spread around the room as the party went on.

Crow disappeared into the kitchen in search of a "large box full of cold things" to chill the drinks in. Akiza pointed him to the cooler in one of the cupboards. Jack followed him in "to help him carry stuff." Yusei, too wrapped up in his new wife to care let him go.

Then, as a slow song came on, he pulled her up and onto the carpeted floor. Somebody flipped the lights off and put a mini disco ball on the coffee table in the center of the room, which sent light beams all over the room, making a perfect environment for the romantic moment. Yusei took Akiza by the hips and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

They moved in synch with the music, just staring at one another. Finally, as the song came to end, Yusei leaned in and kissed her, just in time for Crow and Jack to come in with a cooler filled to the brim with icy-cold water and dump it all over the newly-weds.

Akiza gasped as the water drenched her and her white dress. She was lucky she was wearing undergarments and that her parents had already left because Akiza's father was "so drunk he'd kiss a pig."

Jack and Crow spun around as Akiza's perfect body was revealed through the wet cotton. She looked down at herself, then up at Yusei, then back down at her drenched dress, then up at Yusei again. Then she kissed him. She didn't care about how exposed she was. Not only was she a bit tipsy, here was the man she loved, and he wasn't being too subtle about how much he enjoyed staring at her practically nude form.

Yusei, however, was a bit more sober, and led her up to their bedroom, where he got her out of the dress and into a strapless black dress that hugged her form all the way to where it ended above her knees. Yusei also changed, stripping off his suit and putting on a sports jacket that went to his wrists and a pair of jeans.

They went back down together, and the celebration continued.

_1 year later_

Akiza and Yusei sat together on the couch, staring down at their new-born baby boy. "What're we gonna name 'im?" Yusei asked.

"You're the father. You've gotta choose your son's name," Akiza said, nudging him with her shoulder.

Yusei thought for a moment. "Alex. Alex Jack Fudo."


	2. Chapter 2

** Author's Note: Another fluffy chapter to introduce Alex and his two friends. It's basically a series of duels and a bit of character development about Alex. Also, this story's style is going to dramatically change from here on out. It will be more like the anime where each chapter there is some character development followed by a featured duel, or in this chapter's case, 3.**

Chapter Two:

An Introduction

_Seventeen years have passed since the birth of Alex Jack Fudo. In that time, Jack Atlas and Carly Carmine have married and have a daughter, Stella, who is three months younger than Alex. Crow Hogan and Sherry LeBlanc have also married and have a son, Trevor, who is a month younger than Stella._

_ But not all is loving. During the years of Alex's life, an old evil has surfaced. It has grown in power, feeding on the negative feelings of humanity. This evil has but one purpose: To find and destroy every Signer, and to take the dragons they possess. It has a plan. It will not fail. And when it controls all five dragons, it will control the Crimson Dragon itself._

A teen of seventeen, with brown hair that fell in his blue eyes when it wasn't flipped, a rounded nose, and a ready smile, flipped his leg over his Duel Runner. He wore a red sport jacket over a black t-shirt, finger-less black gloves, blue jeans, and black high-tops.

It was the first day of his third year at Duel Academy, and he didn't want to tarnish his excellent reputation with tardiness.

He did indeed have an excellent reputation. He was at the top of his class, in the Obelisk Dorm, and rarely lost. He had brains, too. He had never received lower than a perfect score on any exam. His instructors loved him, and most students adored his talents.

However, despite his massive popularity, he was soft-spoken, and wasn't the social type, preferring to keep to himself and his cards. People believed him to be a loner, but a loner he was not. He had a special gift. Like several dueling legends throughout history, he could communicate with Duel Monster spirits. One of his closest friends, and his partner, was the Duel Spirit, Junk Synchron.

Of course, he had human friends as well, his closest being Stella Atlas and Trevor Hogan.

Stella was a blonde girl with brown eyes. She was as unpredictable as she was beautiful, some days she was jittery like her mother, other days she was hot-headed like her father. Most of the time, she was in between, calm and collected. She was a Ra Yellow.

Trevor was the joker of the group. He always had a mind for a prank or a laugh, and was ready to make fun of anyone, from his friends or himself to a complete stranger. He was a little taller than Alex, with black hair and green eyes. He had been placed in Ra Yellow due to his performance in the entrance exams, but had been demoted to Slifer Red because of his "inability to pay attention in class." He was still a force to be reckoned with however.

Alex drove down the freeway, headed toward the airport, where three different planes would be ready, one for each dorm. The rule was that no student could board a plane for a dorm higher without being "supervised" by a student of that dorm. So, since Alex was always willing to "supervise," he could get Stella and Trevor onto the Obelisk jet.

Alex pulled into the parking lot designated for Academy Students. He parked his Runner and walked toward the hanger, searching for his friends. He found Trevor half-way there. They slapped hands and continued on. Trevor had his guitar case in his left hand, as well as an effects box that he could use headphones with. Trevor had already changed into his Academy uniform, so he was completely decked out in red. He had his academy disk on his left arm, and his deck in a box on his hip.

The two entered the hanger, coming into view of the planes. The Obelisk plane was two stories, with restaurant-style booths, luxurious restrooms, and flight attendants that would jump to every need of the passengers. The Ra plane was set up like the Obelisk plane, but the seats were standard plane seats and restrooms were less souped-up. The Slifer plane was a standard jet.

Trevor and Alex found Stella waiting for them in the hanger. Stella hugged Alex, and exchanged hello's with Trevor. After a lengthy explanation and a few documents signed by Alex, the three boarded the Obelisk jet. They dropped into a booth at the very back of the first story.

Alex went into the restroom and changed into his Obelisk uniform, which consisted of blue pants, a white shirt, and white trench coat trimmed with blue. He kept his high-tops and gloves. He turned to the mirror and adjusted his coat, then headed back out and dropped down with his friends. He felt a presence then. The spirit of his Junk Synchron floated up from his deck and hovered by him. He smiled, glancing toward it.

The three non-spirit friends caught up as the plane was boarded. The jet took off and they were off, for their third year at the Academy.

By the time the jet landed at Duel Academy, Trevor had fallen asleep, and Alex had to shake him awake. He jumped up, and yelled out, "I summon my...oh..."

Alex bit his lip, trying to hold back his laughter. The three of them deplaned and headed into the main hall. Chancellor Wingy gave a quick speech, then had all the students proceed into the main duel hall, where the entrance exams would be held.

The procedure had changed since the days of Jaden Yuki. The new way of doing it was that any duelist who wished to enter the Academy would start by dueling a member of the Slifer dorm. If they beat that student, they could advance and duel a member of the Ra dorm, and then a member of the Obelisk dorm. The entrance exams started, and the first pair were called.

A voice over the intercom stated, "Challenger Ryan Cole vs. Slifer Red student Trevor Hogan!" Trevor smiled and hopped up from his seat. He walked down the steps onto the dueling field and stepped onto the field across from his opponent.

"You don't look so tough!" the kid said.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you not to judge a book by its cover?" Trevor replied cockily. The kid grit his teeth.

"Whatever. Let's Duel!" he said.

"Fine by me," Trevor said. He picked up his starting hand.

"I'll go first!" Ryan called. He paused for a moment. "And I'll call on my Silent Magician LV4!" He placed the card on his duel disk. A small sorcerer in white robes rose onto the field. "And I'll end with three cards facedown!" he yelled, as two cards appeared on the field.

Trevor laughed. "Whatever," he called, drawing his card.

"Now, since you drew a card, my Magician gains 500 ATK points!" Ryan called. Trevor looked at the magician then back at his hand. He didn't have any monsters he could summon without tributing, but he did have Pot of Greed.

"I play Pot of Greed, so I can draw two cards!" he said as he picked up two cards of his deck.

"And so my monster can gain another 1000 ATK points!" Ryan shot back. Trevor grit his teeth. But now he had something he could work with.

"I summon my Luster Dragon!" he yelled. The sapphire colored dragon leaped into the air, where it hovered. "And if you think he looks scary, wait till you get a load of this! I banish my dragon to Special Summon my Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon!" He slapped the card onto his disk. The enormous dragon materialized in front of Trevor.

"Not bad, eh?" Trevor said with a smirk. "And it only gets better! See, with the effect of my dragon, I can call one of its brethren to the field! So come on out, Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" The black dragon soared into the air.

"Now, Darkness Metal Dragon! Pulverize that pathetic magician!" The shiny dragon let loose a great blast of fire that shattered the Silent Magician and dealt Ryan 300 points of damage. "Follow him up, Red-Eyes!" Trevor's second dragon let loose a similar blast and slammed Ryan with another 2400 points of damage. Trevor: 4000; Ryan: 1300.

"So, with my two dragons out, I'll play a facedown and call it a turn," Trevor said.

"Draw!" Ryan said, but he didn't look at the card he picked up. "Now that I've let you think you had a chance, I'll show you how to duel! I activate Monster Reborn to call my Silent Magician back to the field!" The small sorcerer rose up in a crouched position.

"Next, I'll activate all three of my facedowns!" Trevor frowned. All three? Ryan smiled at his opponent's puzzled appearance. "My three facedowns are all Gift of Greed, which means you get to draw a total of six cards," Ryan explained.

At first Trevor didn't understand why Ryan would let him have so many cards to use, but then he understood. "But if I draw six cards -," he started.

"Then my Magician gains 2500 ATK points, 500 for each counter he gets," Ryan said. Then he smiled ominously. "But little Magician won't be around long, because I'm tributing him to summon my Silent Magician LV8!" Ryan yelled out, throwing his hand in the air. The tall spellcaster rose up, with all of its 3500 ATK points. Trevor was dumbfounded. It was more powerful than either of his dragons.

"Go! Silent Arcane Blast!" The sorcerer pointed its staff and let loose a blast of light that slammed through Trevor's Darkness Metal Dragon and left him 700 Life Points short.

"I end my turn," Ryan said.

Trevor drew his card, for a total of eleven cards in his hand. He frowned. He didn't have anything that could stand up to that Magician. And he knew he had only one card in his deck that could.

"I change my dragon to defense mode and end my turn!" Trevor said.

"Ha! Scared?" Ryan yelled out. "Go! Silent Magician, make him regret wasting that dragon!" Another blast from Ryan's spellcaster crashed through Trevor's dragon.

Trevor bit his lip and drew a card. Not the card he needed. "C'mon, where is it?" he muttered.

He looked up and declared, "I play Hardened Armed Dragon in Defense Mode!"

"You call that a move?" Ryan retorted. He drew his next card and smiled evilly. "I activate my Fairy Meteor Crush, and equip it to my Silent Magician! Now go, Magician! Crush that pathetic dragon!" This time though, the blast was not a white magic blast. It was a meteor. And it crashed through Hardened Armed Dragon and slammed into Trevor, knocking him off his feet.

In the stands, Alex winced. That had hit Trevor for another 2700 points of damage, leaving him with only 600 to Ryan's 1300. Trevor stood back up with an effort and a scowl on his face. He drew his card, whipping it around behind him. He knew that one way or another it would be last. He tilted the card so he could see it. And smiled.

"I think it's time I show you how a real duelist plays! He turns his opponent's moves against them!" Trevor called out.

"And exactly how do you intend to do that?" Ryan said, a smug grin on his face.

"Like this! You let me have an obscene amount of cards in my hand, which has resulted in me having another Red-Eyes Black Dragon, Metal Dragon, and Darkness Dragon!" Trevor yelled. "But I'm sending all of those to the graveyard now!"

"Huh?" Ryan said, bewildered as to why Trevor would send the better part of his favored series to the grave.

"And now! Rise in all your power!" Trevor had a taste for dramaticism. "Montage Dragon!"

Even Alex was pulled forward as the giant three-headed dragon was brought onto the field. "And let's take a look at his ATK points!" Everyone in the crowd looked to the scoreboard to see the great dragon's score.

A look of horror came onto Ryan's face. "7800?!"

"That's right! Now go! Montage Dragon, time for that Magician to meet it's maker!" The three heads of the dragon reared back and loosed great blasts of fire from their maws, all of which joined into one collective force that incinerated Ryan's Silent Magician and sent Ryan flying off his feet.

Trevor simply stepped off the duel field and jogged back to his place in the stands. Alex slapped hands with his best friend with the comment, "I'm glad you're on my side." Trevor sat down and the exams continued.

"Next duel: Challenger Austin Seer vs. Ra Yellow student Stella Atlas!" Stella perked up. It was her time to shine. And with her infamous deck, and equally infamous tendency to reject every guy that moved on her because of her looks, she loved being in the spotlight.

She was faced with a well-groomed, sleek guy. "Well, I'll have some difficulty dueling such a pretty lady," Austin said. Stella put on her well-known bored expression she got whenever guys acted like this guy was.

She put on her disk and said, "Shut your rich-boy mouth and duel."

"If it pleases you," Austin said. Stella rolled her eyes. "I'll play my chainsaw insect." The bug rose onto the field. Stella still looked bored. "You know, my last name isn't _see_-er for nothing. I _see _you in my future."

"I bet what you _see _involves a great deal of pain, cuz that's all you're getting from me," Stella retorted. "And I'm summoning my Batteryman AA!"

"Useless," Austin said.

"I disagree," Stella said. "Cuz I'm activating my Inferno Reckless Summon to call out two more, raising all of their ATK points to 3000!"

"OKAY! NOT SO USELESS!" Austin yelled fearfully.

"Next, out comes Short Circuit! Wipe his field!" Electricity ran through his bug and opened the way. "Go! Wipe this guy out!" The three Batterymen did exactly that.

Stella turned and strode off the field without a word, leaving her audience stunned with the OTK.

"Next Duel: Challenger Samuel Derickson vs. Obelisk Blue student Alex Fudo!" Alex smirked and stood up.

"This'll be good," Alex said. This challenger was the first to make it through to challenge Obelisk Blue. If he won, he'd be inducted straight into the most prestigious dorm on campus. But Alex wasn't going to let that happen. Alex was going to impound him.

He strode out onto the Duel Field and placed his deck in his Duel Disk. His opponent stood across from him.

"I'm not one for small talk so let's get this going," Derickson said.

"Fine by me," Alex said, one side of his mouth turning up in a cocky half-smile. They both picked up their first five cards.

"I'll open up by playing Card Destruction! We both discard our hands and pick up the same number of cards we discarded!" Derickson said. "Which is absolutely perfect for me, because I discarded my Skelengal and my Scarr, Scout of Dark World!" He paused for effect.

"And?" Alex prompted.

"And I drew my Chaos Sorcerer, which I can Special Summon due to the presence of a Light and Dark monster in my graveyard!" The sorcerer rose onto the field, swirling a ball of light and shadow. Alex grit his teeth; he was going to be hard pressed to take down that sorcerer. "I end with two facedowns!"

Alex drew. His eyes lit up at the card, and he heard the familiar hum of Junk Synchron, his Duel Spirit partner. He scanned the remainder of his hand. Nothing that could take down that Sorcerer in one turn, but maybe...

"I summon my Speed Warrior in Defense Mode!" Alex called, "And I'll end with two cards facedown!"

"Ha! I play my Sorcerer's ability! I remove your pathetic Warrior from play!" Alex had been expecting that though.

"I play my facedown! Go! Divine Wrath!" A bolt of light shot down and shattered Chaos Sorcerer.

"Unfortunate that such a well-thought-out play is in vain," Derickson said. "I activate Foolish Burial, allowing me to send my Shining Angel to the grave. Now, by removing my Chaos Sorcerer and my Angel, I can call forth my Lightpulsar Dragon!" The great, white dragon rose onto the field behind Derickson. "Now go! Destroy that Warrior!" The dragon surged forward and crushed Speed Warrior. "End!"

"I draw!" Alex took his newest card from his deck. "And I Summon my Junk Synchron, which allows me to Summon my Speed Warrior back in Defense Mode! And I'll end!"

"You fool! You could've Synchro Summoned and you didn't! Well now you'll pay for that! Go, Lightpulsar Dragon! Shred his Synchron!" The Dragon once again surged forward, wiping Junk Synchron off the field. Alex: 2800; Derickson: 4000.

"My move then! And I Summon my Synchron Explorer! Now, with Explorer's effect, I call back my Junk Synchron!" The spirit floated up beside Alex and revved. "Let's go," Alex said.

"I tune my Synchron with my Explorer to call out my Junk Warrior!" Junk Synchron became a silhouette and then 3 stars, which grew into rings. Explorer floated up into the rings and also became a silhouette.

"Together they become – Junk Warrior!" The Warrior sprang into the air and threw his arms outward.

"So what? It's still 200 ATK points short," Derickson said.

"Not so! You see, Junk Warrior gains ATK points equal to the total ATK of every level 2 or below monster on my side of the field! So let's go Junk Warrior!" The Warrior's points counted up to 3200. "And I'll change my Speed Warrior into Attack Mode! Now Warriors, go!" Junk Warrior dove forward and drove a fist through Lightpulsar Dragon. Speed Warrior followed in with a direct attack. Alex: 2800; Derickson: 2400.

Derickson drew his next card. And smiled.

"I activate Dark World Lightning! So by discarding one card, I destroy your Junk Warrior!" A black bolt struck forth and shattered Junk Warrior.

"Now let's take a look at the card I discarded. It was Axe Dragonute. Which means I once again have a Light and Dark Monster in my grave! So come forth, Darkflare Dragon!" The solid black counterpart of Lightpulsar rose onto the field. "Go! Destroy Speed Warrior!" The dragon let loose a burst of fire that plowed through Speed Warrior and into Alex. Alex: 1200; Derickson: 2400. Alex needed to do something fast. He had only one card on the field, the other facedown he'd played.

"I activate Graceful Revival, calling back my Speed Warrior!" The warrior rose up again for the third time. "Now I send Sonic Chick to the grave to Special Summon Quickdraw Synchron!" The gunslinger-istic monster took the field. "Now my Synchron activates his ability! And he's poppin' a cap in my Junk Synchron!" The tuner's gun went off and left a smoking hole in Junk Synchron's card on the spinning wheel. "So now it'll tune with my Speed Warrior into my Junk Archer!" The tuning process was repeated, yielding an orange archer made out of scrap metal. "Now my Archer activates its ability, removing your Darkflare Dragon from play until the End Phase, leaving you undefended!" An arrow struck forth from the Archer and vaporized Darkflare Dragon. "Now go, Junk Archer!" Another arrow sprung forth and slammed into Derickson. Alex: 1200; Derickson: 100.

"But during your End Phase, my Dragon comes back!" It was true; Darkflare Dragon rose again. "But he won't be around long! See I'm Summoning my Red-Eyes Black Chick!" The hatchling dragon took flight next to Darkflare. "And then, I'm activating Dragonic Tactics! So by Tributing my two Dragons, I can call forth my Light and Darkness Dragon!" The enormous half-white, half-black dragon soared above the field.

"Now, Dragon, destroy that pathetic archer!" The dragon released a half-white half-black jet of flame that cruised right through Junk Archer and into Alex. Alex: 700; Derickson: 100.

Alex drew. He knew that this card was his last: Man-Eater Bug. He had a total of six cards in his hand, including Man-Eater and five spells. And he had Monster Reborn.

"I play Monster Reborn!" Alex said.

"No! As long as my dragon's on the field, all of your spell and traps are negated and my dragon loses 500 ATK instead!" Derickson countered.

_500 ATK? _Alex thought. Maybe...

"Then why don't I play four more spells?" Alex called out.

"But that means –," Derickson started.

"It means your Dragon loses 2000 ATK in addition to the 500 it already did, leaving it a pathetic 300 ATK. Now I summon my Man-Eater Bug, which will attack your dragon and wipe out your Life Points!" The bug did exactly that. Alex breathed a sigh of relief. His play had worked and he had won his duel. The stadium erupted in cheers. Alex didn't acknowledge it and simply returned to his seat.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Yusei's got some new tricks up his sleeve.**

Chapter Three

Anti-Signer

Yusei Fudo sat alone in the kitchen. He watched the morning news on the small TV in the corner, as the speaker went on about the newest pro-league sensations, and blah, blah, blah. Then something caught his eye. A picture of Alex had popped up in the corner of the screen. The newscaster began to talk about how the newest Fudo was the pride of Duel Academy, and how he was sure to rise to the top of the pro-league upon his exit from Duel Academy.

Yusei smiled. His son was the protégé of the Dueling world. Then the screen suddenly changed.

"We interrupt this broadcast to bring you news on a threat that has recently hit New Domino City. A new Turbo Duelist is on the road. He's only been seen twice, and both of his opponents have disappeared!" the reporter said.

"And to make things even more interesting, this mystery duelist is calling out ex-King Yusei Fudo!" Yusei started. What in the...? He was being challenged by a criminal? He didn't like the looks of this. "The man says that the disappearances will continue until Fudo 'rises to the challenge'!"

Just then there was a knock at the door. Yusei walked over and opened it to find Mina, still chief of police, facing him.

"I know, Mina," Yusei said. "I'm going out tonight."

"Spirits help you, Yusei."

Later that day, Yusei had spoken to Akiza. At first she had staunchly resisted his facing this criminal, but knowing his nature, she eventually conceded. So here was Yusei, out on the road, searching for an opponent. He hung a left and rode down the freeway. Suddenly, the feminine voice in his Duel Runner spoke, "Unidentified Duelist approaching from the rear."

Yusei's face turned grim as he realized this was the criminal. Another Runner sped up beside Yusei. "Hm; I was wondering if you'd ever show up!" That voice. Yusei knew that voice.

"Wait a minute! You're –," Yusei started.

"I'm flattered you remember me!" the criminal interrupted. "Yes, it's me: Sly. And I'm here to take your precious Stardust Dragon!"

"What!?" Yusei cried.

"That's right! I serve a higher power now, Yusei! And that higher power wants your dragon. So I'm going to take it from you right now! Duel!" Sly said. The walls began to rise and suddenly Yusei was alone in a lane with Sly.

"Let's go! I'll start!" Sly said as he drew his first five cards. "And I'll start with my Eccentric Boy!" Yusei remembered that card. Synchros from the hand. "And now, I tune my Eccentric Boy with my Acrobat Monkey, allowing me to Synchro Summon my Gaia Knight, The Force of Earth!" The horse-riding warrior appeared and began charging alongside Sly. "And I end with two facedowns!"

Yusei looked over his hand. "I don't know what your 'higher power' is, but if it wants my Stardust Dragon, then it can't have it! So let's go! I summon my Turbo Synchon!" The small monster rose up onto the field. "Now go Synchron! Attack!"

"Ha! My Knight will crush your puny Synchron!"

"No! With Turbo Synchron's effect, I change your Knight to Defense Mode!"

"So? It still has more DEF than your Synchron does ATK!"

Sly was right, and Yusei got slammed for 700 points of damage. Yusei: 3300; Sly: 4000.

"But you see, Sly, now I'm activating Turbo Synchron's other effect! I get to summon a monster from my hand with less ATK than the amount of damage I took! So come forth, Satellite Cannon!" The blaster-like machine appeared and flew along next to Yusei. "Now I tune my Synchron with my Cannon to Synchro Summon Turbo Warrior!" The Warrior rose up and dashed along next to Yusei. "I end with a facedown!"

"Pathetic!" Sly called. He drew. "And now I play my Ancient Rules card! This allows me to Special Summon my Gaia, the Fierce Knight!" Another horseman materialized and galloped along beside Sly. "And now, since it's the only card in my hand, I can play my Swift Gaia, the Fierce Knight!" A third horseman appeared and rode with Sly. Yusei growled. Three monsters.

"Next, I activate my two facedowns: Book of Moon and Spiral Spear Strike!" Both of his facedowns flipped faceup on the field. "I'll use Book of Moon to flip your Turbo Warrior into Defense Mode!" Yusei's Turbo Warrior suddenly went from an imposing warrior to no more than a facedown card on the field. "Now, Swift Knight, attack that Warrior!" The first of Sly's horsemen charged and crashed through Yusei's Warrior. "And due to my Spiral Spear Strike, you take piercing damage!"

"Ahhhh!" Yusei cried out. Yusei: 2600; Sly: 4000.

"Now go! Fierce Knight, attack!" Yusei again got slammed by the spiral spears. Yusei: 300; Sly: 4000. "This is just too easy! Finish him off!" Sly's final horseman charged, but suddenly stopped.

"Sorry, Sly. But with the power of my Scrap-Iron Scarecrow, your attack fails!"

"I end my turn then!" Sly said.

Yusei knew he needed something good from his deck this time. He got something good. "First, I'll send my Quillbolt Hedgehog to the Graveyard to Special Summon my Quickdraw Synchron!" The monster took to the field. "And now I'll revive my Hedgehog using its ability!" The gold-furred animal took the field next to Quickdraw Synchron. "Now, I'll tune them together into my Nitro Warrior!" The tuning process went smoothly. Emerging from it was one of Yusei's oldest cards. "Now I'll activate Block Attack spell! This changes your Swift Knight to Defense Mode! I'll also play my Silver Contrails spell that increases my Warrior's ATK by 1000!"

"Now Nitro Warrior, attack! Destroy Gaia Knight! And since I activated a spell this turn, he gains another 1000 ATK!" Sly watched in horror as the 4400 ATK point Warrior plunged onto his Gaia Knight and slammed through it. Yusei: 300; Sly: 1800. "And since you have a monster in Defense Mode, I can change it to Attack Mode and have Nitro Warrior attack it!" Swift Gaia switched into Attack Mode and was instantly crushed by Nitro Warrior. Yusei: 300; Sly: 500. "I end with a facedown!" It was a much closer game now. And Yusei held the advantage.

"I draw!" Sly said. "And I play Pot of Greed!" Sly picked up his two cards. "How ironic. What I drew was two more Pots of Greed! This gives me a total of four cards in my hand." Sly examined those four cards. "I'll start by activating Monster Reborn! This allows me to call back my Gaia Knight, the Force of Earth!" The horseman rose again. "Next, I'll play Monster Reincarnation! So by discarding one card, I can bring my Eccentric Boy back to my hand! Now, I'll Summon my Eccentric Boy!" The boy appeared yet again. "Now, the card I discarded was Beiige, Vanguard of Dark World. And he's Special Summoned to the field! So I'll tune him with my Eccentric Boy to Synchro Summon my Scrap Archfiend!" The monster took to the field.

"Now I play Polymerization to fuse my Gaia Knight with my Archfiend, to Fusion Summon my Gaia Drake, The Universal Force!" The enormous monster took the field and squared off against Nitro Warrior. Yusei growled again. Too many monsters. "Now Gaia Drake, attack!"

"I play Scrap-Iron Scarecrow, negating your attack!" Yusei said, revealing his trap.

"I end with a facedown!" Sly said.

"I draw!" Yusei began his turn. "And I activate Dian Keto, The Cure Master, increasing my Life Points by 1000, as well as Nitro Warrior's ATK! So go Nitro Warrior! Destroy Gaia Drake!" Nitro Warrior charged forward and slammed through Gaia Drake. Yusei: 1500; Sly: 200.

"I end with a facedown!"

"Then it's my move!" Sly said. "And I play a facedown!"

"I draw!" Yusei said. "Finish this Nitro Warrior!"

"No!" Sly said. "I activate Sakuretsu Armor, destroying Nitro Warrior!"

Yusei grit his teeth in frustration. So close. "In that case, I'll activate two of my facedowns: Descending Lost Star and Graceful Revival! Together, these let me bring back my Nitro Warrior, though its Level is reduced by 1, and has no ATK points, and my Turbo Synchron!" The two monsters came back to field. "Next, I activate Star Changer, increasing my Turbo Synchron's Level to 2! Now, I tune my my Level 2 Synchron with my Level 6 Warrior, to call forth my Stardust Dragon!" The great dragon took flight in a burst of light. "Alright!" Yusei yelled. Then a dark cloud seemed to pass over the duel field. "Huh?!" Yusei said.

"You are too faithful to that Dragon of yours, Yusei," Sly said. "For because of it you have lost! When Stardust Dragon is Synchro Summoned, I can call forth the Ultimate Bane! Rise from the depths of despair, Fallen Star Dragon!" In a burst of black light, a new dragon rose. Cloaked in shadow, it was Stardust Dragon. Except this dragon was now more than a skeleton. It had no ATK points, but something told Yusei it was going to be his demise.

Suddenly, the dragon dove forward and grabbed Stardust Dragon around the neck. Then, Stardust Dragon began to shrink and wither, becoming a shell of itself, until it was no more than a fossil, at which point it cracked open and fell to pieces. Yusei watched in horror as this chain of events unfolded. "No! Stardust!" he cried.

Sly laughed evilly. "Go, Fallen Star Dragon, crush that pathetic Signer!" Yusei realized in horror that Fallen Star Dragon had absorbed all of Stardust Dragon's ATK. "Don't bother trying to block it, Yusei! It is immune to all your traps!" Yusei sank back as the skeletal dragon wiped out the last of his Life Points.

Akiza fell to her knees when she saw it. Tears rolled down her cheeks. Wrecked on the side of the highway, was none other than Yusei's Duel Runner. And Yusei was gone. He'd never returned after his attempt to take down the criminal. And now he was nowhere to be found.

Akiza began to sob uncontrollably. "Please...please be alright. I...I love you, Yusei," she whispered.

**Author's Note: So there you have it. The disappearance of Yusei Fudo.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: Yikes. Yusei's gone, and now we have the whole thing Sly mentioned about a higher power. Freaky much? I'd say. Let's do this. Also, I'm gonna make up a few more cards throughout this story so heads up!**

Chapter 4:

Teacher vs. Student

Akiza sat in her kitchen, absently stirring her coffee. She had just finished up with the police, asking her about Yusei's disappearance. Akiza's eyes were red from tears. Now she was alone in the house for the first time since...since Alex was born.

_Alex..., _Akiza thought. She grabbed her cell phone out of her pocket and dialed. After a few rings Alex picked up.

"Hey, Mom. What's up?" he said easily.

"Alex...it's...it's your dad," Akiza said.

"Dad? Mom, what happened?" Alex asked, sounding scared.

"Then you haven't heard? He's disappeared," Akiza said. Alex was silent for a long time.

"I'm gonna come home. I should be back in New Domino by tomorrow morning. I love you, Mom," Alex said before hanging up.

"I love you, too," Akiza said to the emptiness of her house.

Alex dashed out of the Blue Dorm. He had his stuff in a duffel bag and his duel disk on his arm. He ran up the road toward Duel Academy. He reached the front door and dashed toward the stairs. The elevator would be too slow. He ran the stairs as fast as he could until he reached the top floor. He burst out of the stairwell and slowed to a walk before opening the door to the Chancellor's office.

"I need a plane out of here, now," Alex said.

"Excuse me?" Chancellor Wingy replied.

"My dad has gone missing. My mom is alone at the house and she needs me," Alex said quickly.

"I'm sorry, Alex, but rules say that students are not allowed to leave the island under any circumstances," Wingy said.

"I had a feeling you'd say that, goody-two-shoes as you are. That's why I brought this," Alex said, raising his ready duel disk.

"I will _not_ duel you to keep you inside the rules!" Wingy retorted.

"Fine. Then Stella, Trevor, and I are dropping out," Alex said with a tone of finality; he knew his two best friends would follow him to the ends of the earth.

"B-b-but – you three are the pride of this school!" Wingy said fearfully.

"Then duel me!" Alex cried. "And if I win, I'm off this island!"

"Fine then," Wingy said, gritting his teeth.

Alex faced Wingy across the duel field. Both their Life Points set at 4000 as they drew their opening hands. "Game on," Alex said.

"I'll go first!" Wingy said. He drew. "And I'll summon my Ancient Gear Knight!" The rustic monster leaped onto the field. "Next I activate Geartown. This lets me release one less monster for Tribute Summons! I'll also play Double Summon! This lets me Summon another monster this turn! And I'll tribute my Knight to Summon my Ancient Gear Golem!"

The huge monster rose in a kneeling position on the field. "Now I activate Preemptive Strike! This lets me attack on my first turn, even if I go first! So strike, Ancient Gear Golem! Mechanized Melee!" Alex watched in horror as the great machine slammed away more than half his Life Points before he'd even made a move. Alex: 1000; Wingy: 4000. "Go ahead," Wingy said with a smirk.

"I draw!" Alex said. "And I'm activating Graceful Charity, which lets me draw three cards and discard two." He did so, and discarded his Quillbolt Hedgehog and Speed Warrior. "Next, I summon my Junk Synchron!" He heard the familiar humming noise of his spirit partner as it took the field. "Now, I use his ability to call my Speed Warrior back from the Graveyard. And I'll also use Quillbolt's ability to Summon it!" The two monsters took the field next to Junk Synchron. "Now, I tune my Synchron with my Hedgehog to Synchro Summon – Junk Warrior!" The warrior rose onto the field in all its glory. "And now its effect activates, letting it gain ATK equal to the ATK of all face-up Level 2 or lower monsters combined, which means it totals at 3200! Now attack Junk Warrior! Scrap Fist!" The warrior dove forward and powered through Wingy's Gear Golem. "And since my Speed Warrior's in Defense mode, I'll end with a facedown." Alex: 1000; Wingy: 3800.

"I draw!" Wingy said. "And I'll open up with my Polymerization Spell Card! Thus, I fuse my the Ancient Gear Golem in my hand with my Ancient Gear Soldier and my Ancient Gear Beast!" Angus had never seen a Fusion Summon before and this puzzled him. "Rise forth, Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem!" Alex watched as the 4400 ATK monster triumphantly took the field. "Go Golem, attack that pathetic Warrior!" The monster surged forward and shattered Speed Warrior.

"I activate Defense Draw, so you deal no damage, and I draw a card!" Alex countered.

"I end my turn with a facedown!" Wingy said defiantly.

"Draw!" Alex said. "And I'll send my Level Eater from my hand to the grave to Special Summon my Quickdraw Synchron! Next, I activate Level Eater's ability, reducing Quickdraw's Level by one and Special Summoning it. Now I play Harmonic Waves, raising Level Eater's level to four!" Junk Warrior, Level 4 Quickdraw, Level 4 Level Eater. "Now I tune Quickdraw with Level Eater to Synchro Summon – Junk Destroyer!" A huge scrap-metal monster rose onto the field behind Junk Warrior. "And now his ability activates, destroying your Ultimate Golem!" The enormous creature shattered.

"Since he was destroyed, I can Special Summon my Ancient Gear Golem!" Wingy returned.

"And I'll destroy that with Junk Warrior! Scrap Fist!" Alex: 1000; Wingy: 3600. "Next, my Junk Destroyer will attack!" Alex: 1000; Wingy: 1000. "I end my turn!"

"I draw!" Wingy began. He knew he was in a bad position. Even Life Points and he had no cards on the field, against Alex's most powerful monsters. But he had an idea. "Since Geartown is on the field, I can summon my Ancient Gear Engineer without Releasing. Next, I play Mystic Wok, which lets me Release Engineer in order to gain Life Points equal to its ATK!" Alex: 1000; Wingy: 2500.

"Now, I activate my facedown: Ultimate Offering! So I'll pay 500 Life Points to Summon my Green Gadget!" The gear-like monster took the field. "Now, his effect allows me to add Red Gadget to my hand! And I'll pay 500 more Life Points to Summon him, too!" Red Gadget took the field next to its brother. "Next, I'll pay another 500 Life Points to Summon my Ancient Gear Gadgiltron Dragon!" The scrap-metal dragon took the field. "And since I sacrificed my two Gadgets, my dragon deals piercing damage and deals 600 points of damage to you every time it destroy a monster!"

Alex grit his teeth. If that monster landed an attack against Junk Destroyer, it was over. Wingy's next statement showed that he knew that, too: "Go, Gadjiltron! Attack Junk Destroyer!" Alex was out of facedowns. Wingy thought he had him.

"I discard Effect Veiler, negating the effect of Gadjiltron Dragon!" Alex called. Wingy growled. That meant that his Dragon would be gone next turn unless he could do something quick. Junk Destroyer shattered under Gadjiltron Dragon's assault. Alex: 600; Wingy: 1000.

"I end my turn with a facedown!"

"Draw!" Alex said. He was sure he could win this turn. "I Set a monster! Then I activate Book of Taiyou! This lets me flip my facedown monster face-up. My facedown was Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter, which lets me destroy your facedown!"

"No!" Wingy looked frightened as his Mirror Force trap was revealed and destroyed.

"I now have to send three cards from my deck to the grave!" He pulled the top three cards of his deck and sent them to the grave. And he saw the card he needed. "Next I remove from play my trap card: Skill Successor! This lets me increase the ATK of Junk Warrior by 800, to 4000! Now, Junk Warrior, attack! Scrap Fist!" Junk Warrior dove forward and crushed Gadjiltron Dragon. Alex: 600; Wingy: 0.

"You owe me a trip off the island."


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: Alex is coming home to New Domino. But before he gets there...stuff's gonna happen. Just a heads up: there **_**will **_**be sexuality in this chapter. Nothing crazy heavy; no lemons, or even limes. This is like a first date, so please, hit me up a review and tell me what you think.**

Chapter Five:

And Then There Were Two

Akiza clutched her cell phone when she saw the Caller ID: Yusei. She flipped it open and cried out frantically a mixture of 'Thank God you're okay' and 'Where have you been?'.

Yusei 'shhh'ed her. "It's okay, my beautiful rose. I'm okay. I'm at the Police Headquarters. And...ummm...I kinda need a ride home..."

"It's okay. It's okay. I'll be right there. Thank God you're okay. I love you," Akiza said in-between sobs.

"I love you, too," Yusei said before hanging up.

Akiza pulled up in front of the police building. She looked around, but Yusei wasn't there. She frowned. And then it hit her. Literally, hit her. A Duel Runner slammed into her from behind. Her Runner spun wildly before she righted herself to see...Yusei? He was on a black Duel Runner, and was gearing up for a Duel Runner.

"Yusei? What are you doing?" Akiza cried.

"Inviting you over to our side!" Yusei said. "Now let's duel!"

"What?!" Akiza squealed.

"You heard me!" Yusei said.

_Duel Mode, engaged. Activating Field Spell: Speed World 2._

"Alright, Yusei, I don't know what you're game is, but I know that I can't let you beat me," Akiza said.

"Of course I'll beat you, Akiza! And then you can join me with the rest of The Fallen!" Yusei said, but it didn't sound like Yusei anymore. He sounded insane.

"Duel!"

"I'll take the first move!" Akiza said. "And I'll start by summoning my Lonefire Blossom! Then, I tribute my blossom to Special Summon – Tytannial, Princess of Camillas!"

"Well done, Akiza!" Yusei said.

"I end with two facedowns!"

"My draw!" Yusei said. "And I discard one card to Special Summon – The Tricky! Next I summon my Dark Resonator!" Akiza had seen that monster before. Jack used it. "Then, I activate the effect of the card I discarded, Quillbolt Hedgehog! Since it's back in play, I'll tune my three monsters together to Synchro Summon – Ally of Justice Decisive Armor!" Akiza grimaced. Yusei's deck had changed. This wasn't Yusei, but some shell of him.

"Now, Decisive Armor, attack!" Tytannial was shattered. Akiza: 3500; Yusei: 4000.

"I end with a facedown!"

"My draw!" Akiza said. "And I'll start by activating Miracle Fertilizer, as well as my Overdoom Line! Next, I play Fertilizer's effect to Special Summon Tytannial back to the field! Next, I'll play a couple of facedowns and end my turn!"

"Draw! I summon my Ally of Justice Nulifier! Next, I activate Double Summon, so I can Summon my Turbo Synchron! With these two together, I Synchro Summon – Ally of Justice Catastor!" Akiza recognized the series' ace. She knew that Catastor attacking would destroy Tytannial immediately.

"Go Catastor, attack!"

"No, I play Wall of Thorns! Say goodbye to your Allies!" Akiza countered.

"I activate my facedown! Go, Starlight Road!" A wave of white light ripped through Akiza's wall. Akiza cursed herself. But it got worse. From it burst forth none other than Yusei's Stardust Dragon.

Akiza closed her eyes as a tear slid down her cheek. It _was _Yusei. Not some clone. Not some automaton. It was him and none other. The dragon showed that. No one could control Stardust like Yusei. No one.

"Since Starlight Road negated your Wall, my attack goes through and you can kiss your Tytannial goodbye! Now, Decisive Armor, attack!"

"I play my other facedown! Which is another Wall of Thorns!"

"I activate Stardust's effect to negate it!" Akiza had known he'd do that, but it gave her another turn. Akiza: 200; Yusei: 4000.

"I draw!" Akiza said. "And now I summon my Twilight Rose Knight! Since Rose Knight was Summoned, I can Special Summon Lord Poison from my hand. Next, I activate Forbidden Chalice, increasing Stardust's ATK by 400, but negating his effect! Now, I tune my Knight with Lord Poison to Synchro Summon Black Rose Dragon! Now I'll activate..."

Then a dark cloud passed over their Runners. "You are too faithful to that Dragon of yours, Akiza," Yusei said. "For because of it you have lost! When Black Rose Dragon is Synchro Summoned, I can call forth the Ultimate Bane! Rise from the depths of despair, Fallen Rose Dragon!" In a burst of black light, a new dragon rose. Cloaked in shadow, it was Black Rose Dragon. Except this dragon was no more than a skeleton. It had no ATK points, but something told Akiza it was going to be her demise.

Then Fallen Rose Dragon dove forward and passed straight through Black Rose Dragon. Black Rose Dragon withered, crumpled, vanished.

"No! Black Rose!" Akiza cried.

"Go! Fallen Rose Dragon! Finish this!" Akiza wimpered as the skeletal dragon wiped out her Life Points with its newly acquired ATK points.

Alex watched the newscast with the face of a man defeated. He watched the skeletal dragon wipe out the last of his mother's Life Points. He saw the screen fuzz out. But the cast had told him one thing. The Signers were falling. And something told Alex the dragons were involved.

And he had something else now. The Signers the fell still had their dragons. And if Alex could beat them, then he could take the dragons back. Yusei had said that he was bringing Akiza over to their side. Alex had a feeling that whoever 'they' were were not the sort of people Alex would like to be in possession of the dragons.

Yusei had said "Fallen Rose Dragon". Whatever these "Fallen" cards were, they were designed to counter the Signers. And so far they had succeeded: Yusei and Akiza had both Fallen. His parents. His protectors. His idols.

He looked down at his deck. Junk Warrior sat on top as it always did. It had been given to him by his father. The first to go. And now his mother was gone, too. He closed his eyes and allowed a single tear to slide down his face.

"Alex...?" Alex looked up and turned toward his door. Stella stood there, peeking around the door. "Oh, Alex," Stella said, coming into his room as she saw his face. She closed the door and sat down beside him. She wrapped her arms around him and suddenly he felt exposed, and shuddered against her as he sobbed.

"They're gone...they're gone...they're...," Alex choked out between sobs.

"I'm so sorry, Alex," Stella said as she tightened her hug. Alex sobbed for a good twenty minutes. Stella sat patiently, holding him in her arms. When Alex raised his head to look at her again, his eyes were blood-shot. He shuddered a few times before setting his jaw and slightly regaining his composure.

"Alex...," Stella said, searching his eyes.

Alex felt his heart jump into his throat. He realized it then. He was in love with this girl. She had stood by him their entire lives.

"Stella, I...," Alex started, "Thank you." She smiled at him sadly. He realized she still had her arms around him. She apparently realized it too, as she started to pull her arms away, but Alex slipped his hands around her waist. She was startled at first, but then she seemed...happy? Alex knew he could play it safe and just give her a hug...but that wasn't him. All or nothing.

So he kissed her. Right on the lips. She started and almost pulled away...but didn't. She leaned into hims pressing him back onto the bed. Alex went with it, allowing her to fall on top of him. He slid his left hand up to her neck where it met the base of her skull. He allowed his other gloved hand to rub and caress her back. She broke contact for a minute to take a deep breath and dropped her forehead against his.

"That...," she closed her mouth. "Oh my God."

"Stell...I've got a plane out of here tonight. I'm going back home to help find my parents. I can't ask you to go with me. I have a feeling I'm going to be following in my father's footsteps. That I'm going to be risking my life. I can't ask you to do that."

She straddled him as she sat back. "Alex, are you insane? Trevor and I already know you're leaving."

"What!? How!?" Alex said.

"Um...the fact that you were packing your bags when we came by earlier?" Stella said.

"Oh...," Alex said, feeling stupid.

"But that's not the point. The point is that we don't care what you're doing, we're going too."

"What!? Stell –," Alex cried,

"Don't you try to stop us!" Stella said. "We love you! We'd follow you to the ends of the earth if you went there! And we'll follow you to death and beyond. Whatever Yusei was preaching about on that newscast, we're gonna help you fight it!"

"Stell...," Alex said, a sad look in his eye.

Just then, Trevor burst in. "Alright, let's go kick some – woah!"

Stella and Alex jumped apart.

"Well...uh-huh," Trevor stuttered.

"Yeah...," Alex said awkwardly. Stella laughed, nonchalantly taking Alex's hand.

"So what? We're together now," Stella said easily. Trevor smiled. Alex did too.

"Alright. Stella explained your guys' intentions to me. And if you guys want to go, then I'm not gonna stop you. From this point on, there's a new breed of Signers. Us. We'll go back to New Domino, and we'll show these Anti-Signers who's boss.

"We're gonna hit hard and hit fast. We'll go after every Signer, Fallen or not. Those that have Fallen, we'll take on, and take their Dragons, because I have no doubt in my mind that the Dragons are what this whole ordeal is about.

"As for those that haven't Fallen, we'll defend them." He shoved his fist into the middle of the circle the three had formed. "You guys with me?"

There was pause, then Trevor stuck out his fist. "'Till I'm dead."

Stella placed her fist in the middle, forming a triangle. "Let's do it."

The plane ride back to New Domino took all night. They sat alone on the Obelisk Blue Jet, something that Alex had negotiated with Wingy, again using the threat of dropping out. Alex and Stella sat across from Trevor, who had taken their being together very well, as 'He saw it coming an eon ago'.

The three passed the time by playing three-way duels, most of which Alex won with some Junk Warrior combo. Trevor finally passed out at around 11:00. With Trevor out cold, Stella cuddled up to Alex and lay her head on his shoulder. Alex dropped his arm around her shoulders, and let her fall asleep.

Alex didn't sleep. After Stella was out, he gently disentangled himself before laying her head on his lap. He pulled out his deck and lay it out in a forty-card spread. He screwed up his face in concentration.

His father, a living legend, and ranked second on the list of greatest duelists of all time, behind only Yugi Moto, had been defeated by these Anti-Signers. Alex had to up his game if he was going to survive. He slid his hand down toward another deck box on his hip, but after hovering a moment, retracted his hand.

"No," he said quietly. "Dad gave me these cards, and I'm going to use them to save him." He returned to his Junk deck.

Alex awoke with his head down on the table. He could feel someone pressed up against his side, running their fingers through his hair.

"Stell?" Alex asked sleepily. He heard a quiet sound of affirmation from behind him. Alex sat up.

Stella whispered in his ear, "I hope you don't mind that I put your cards away for you after I found you asleep."

"What time is it?" Alex asked.

"8:00. We land in 20 minutes," Stella replied.

Alex looked over to Trevor. "Hey! Wakey, wakey, hands off snakey!" Alex said, flicking his ear.

"Five more minutes, Mom...," he said groggily. Alex gave Stella a devious look.

"I summon Junk Warrior!" Alex said loudly.

"I activate Solemn Judgment! And then I'll chain –," Trevor leaped out of his seat. "Oh...," Trevor trailed off. Alex and Stella laughed as their friend sank back into his seat.

The plane landed right on time in the Duel Academy private hanger. They unloaded their baggage and headed for the parking lot, where they had parked their Duel Runners. They separated to go find their respective rides, and came together as they pulled out of the lot. Alex led the way down the highway, flanked by his two companions. Together, they flew across the roads.

"Where are we going, Alex?" Trevor piped up.

"Out West. I know a guy who can help us out," Alex said.

"So we're not going after Yusei right away?" Stella chirped.

"No. We can't go after anyone until we have a group large enough to watch over the Signers, which means we need six. That's why I want you guys to go talk to your moms. They're also Duelists, and we'll need their help, too," Alex said.

"Right," Stella and Trevor said together.

Alex pulled up in front of the small house. He got off his Duel Runner and walked up the steps. He paused for a moment, then knocked on the door. The man inside opened the door.

"Alex!"

"Hello, Kalin."


	6. Chapter 6

** Author's Note: Alex is in Crash Town. Hell yeah. So here we introduce good old Kalin. Also, I'd like to say that IMHO, Kalin is the best character in the show:-)**

Chapter 6:

Crash From The Past

"Alex?" Kalin hissed, throwing a glance left and right. "It's not safe for you to be here!"

"What? Why?" Alex whispered.

"Come inside," Kalin said, hurrying Alex into his house. Alex stepped inside as Kalin pulled the door shut behind him.

"Alright, what's going on?" Alex asked.

"The town isn't safe anymore. A new group has taken over," Kalin said in a hushed voice.

"What? I thought you rebuilt this town from the ashes!" Alex replied.

"I did. But there was always the Dyne," Kalin said ominously.

"What do you mean?" Alex asked.

"I mean I did rebuild. And the town thrived for ten long years. But then...something happened.

"Let me start at the beginning. After the mine closed down, all the miners returned to the town and continued on with their lives. But the ex-miners were mixed with ex-Malcolm Family and ex-Ramon Group members.

"For ten years, I was able to keep tensions down. For ten years, the town lived in peace. But then I let my guard down. I thought that after ten long years, the bitterness would have been gone. That the miners and the ex-Malcolm Family and ex-Ramon Groupies would be so intermingled that no one would be able to tell the difference anymore.

"Oh, how wrong I was. I should have known. Nothing can remove the taint. The _scar _of the mine. The miners, after _ten long years_, could still tell who had been in there and who hadn't. And they rose up. Moved against those who had never served in the mine.

"At first, I was spared. They thought that because I had felt the sting of the whip, that I was worthy to be among them. But I sided against them. I fought with the ex-Malcolm Family and Ramon Group. But we lost. We _lost._

"The Miners took over. They now regard anyone not among them as fodder for their entertainment. They force us to Duel for our freedom. It's been...ten years since that dreadful day. For ten years I've survived by condemning my fellow prisoners. The first time I was ever called, I went to lose on purpose. But they told us –," Kalin stifled a sob. Alex could see the man breaking down.

"They told us that if we lost on purpose, we'd both go. So I knew that it was better for me to fight my hardest. Better for me to survive than for both of us to go. So I've survived ten years, ten _fucking _years, by letting die the others." Kalin broke down in sobs.

"Hey! Kalin! What the hell are you doing? Where's the man that saved this town? Where's the hero that brought down Lawton?" Alex cried.

Kalin's face darkened. "That man is long gone. He deserted me after I was forced to condemn the person I loved most in this world." Kalin looked Alex dead in the eye. "They forced me to Duel Nico.

"Yes. Nico and I fell in love. She was 14, I was 17. Her father allowed it. But during the Miner uprising, he tried to sway us. But Nico wouldn't budge. She told him that he was becoming the the monster that Lawton had been. And so he," Kalin took a shuddering breath. "He forced Nico and I to duel for our freedom. Against each other.

"The rule was that if either of us lost on purpose, the other would go, but the loser would stay, to live with regret. So we both fought our hardest, all the while hoping the other to win. But I...I won. And Nico went to the mine. She was 24 at the time. I was 27. And I sent her to her death. I would've – I would've sent myself after her, no matter who I brought with me, but her last words to me, as she was dragged to the cart were...were...'Don't come after me, Kalin. Save yourself. I love you.'" Kalin broke down again, but between sobs Alex could make out, "I wouldn't go back on her final wish. Because I knew it would be her final wish."

Kalin slammed his fist on the table. He staunched the flow of tears, and looked up at Alex. "You need to leave Alex. You need to go now!"

"Oh, I'm leaving alright," Alex said. "And I'm taking you with me. And if they're still alive, Nico and West too."

"Alex don't try it. Rebelling will only make things worse," Kalin replied despairingly. Just then, there was a knock at the door.

"Kalin Kessler! We understand that you are housing an outsider!"

"Run, Alex!" Kalin hissed.

Alex looked Kalin dead in the eye. "No."

Alex stood up and walked over to the door. He opened and looked out at the Miner with a level gaze. "I'm your outsider. Now, what do you want?"

"All outsiders here must Duel for the privilege of staying!"

"And if I refuse?"

"You go to mine."

"And if I lose?"

"You go to the mine."

"It seems I have little choice then," Alex said. Taking the Revolver Disk they handed him and fastening on the gun belt.

"And as Mr. Kessler is your houser and thus a criminal, he will be your opponent!"

"What!?" Kalin cried.

"You heard them, Kalin. Now strap on your Disk and let's Duel."

Kalin and Alex faced each other across the square, their hands ready to draw their disks. They stared each other dead in the eye. Alex, studying and calculating; Kalin, emotionless.

"Draw!" They drew, and Kalin took the move.

"I'll start by activating the effect of Card Destruction, thus we both discard our hands and draw the same number of cards that we discarded. Kalin took his first draw. "And since my first draw is Infernity Archfiend, I can Special Summon it and add an Infernity card to my hand!" Infernity Archfiend (1800/1200/4) appeared on the field.

"And that card is Infernity Launcher! Now I play Launcher's ability, to discard Infernity Avenger to my graveyard. Now I place three cards face down, emptying my hand." Alex growled. That was just how Kalin liked it.

"Now, since I have no cards in my hand, I can play Launcher's other ability, so by sending it to the Graveyard, I can Summon back my Infernity Necromancer and Infernity Avenger!" The robe-wearing demon, Infernity Necromancer (0/2000/3), and the pistol-wielding Avenger (0/0/1) arrived on the scene.

"Now, I tune my Avenger with my Necromancer and my Archfiend, to Synchro Summon – Infernity Doom Dragon!" The six-eyed, black Infernity Doom Dragon (3000/2400/8) took the field with a roar.

"Next, I activate my facedown, Pot of Greed!" Kalin cried as he drew two cards. Alex was puzzled. Why would Kalin be trying to put cards in his hand?

"If you're wondering why I'm drawing, it's only so I can discard! Go, Magical Stone Excavation! This allows me to send two cards from my hand to the Grave to add one spell from my Grave to my hand. And I choose my Infernity Launcher!" Kalin extracted the card from his Grave.

"I now play my Launcher and send it to the grave to revive my Infernity Archfiend, and my Infernity Necromancer!" The two monsters reappeared on the field. Alex grit his teeth. This was bad.

"Now I play Archfiend's ability! Thus, I add another Infernity Necromancer to my hand, which I will now Summon, but due to its ability, it's automatically changed to Defense position!" Alex stared down the two robe-wearing magicians, the fiend, and the dragon. This was bad.

"I now activate one of my Necromancer's ability, allowing me to revive my Avenger!" The gunslinger took the field. "Now, Avenger, tune Archfiend and Necromancer! Take flight, Dark End Dragon!" Dark End Dragon (2600/2100/8), complete with demonic smiley on its midsection, took flight. Another dragon. Not good.

"Next, I activate my other Necromancer's ability, allowing me to Special Summon my Infernity Archfiend! Now, with Archfiend's ability, I add another Infernity Avenger to my hand!" Alex caught something here! Kalin had slipped up! He'd already Normal Summoned, which meant he had a card in his hand, and all his monsters' abilities were useless!

"Now I play my facedown!" Alex mentally kicked himself. Of course Kalin hadn't slipped up. "My facedown is Double Summon, which allows me to Normal Summon again! So come forth Infernity Avenger!" The gunslinger appeared again.

"Now Avenger, tune with Necromancer and Archfiend! Come to me! Void Ogre Dragon!" Void Ogre Dragon (3000/3000/8) took flight between the other two dragons. Alex now stared down Kalin's three most vicious monsters. He was all but done for.

"Make your move, Alex!" Kalin called.

"I will! Draw!" Alex said defiantly. "Now I activate Book of Moon, flipping your Void Ogre Dragon facedown!" Alex said.

"I play Void Ogre's ability, negating your spell!" Kalin countered. Alex had been counting on that. Because Void Ogre had negated Book of Moon, he couldn't negate Alex's next spell.

"I activate the Tuning Spell Card!" Alex had to play this exactly right.

"So now, I add Junk Synchron to my hand, and send the top card of my deck to the Graveyard," Alex declared. He smiled as he sent his Speed Warrior. "Next, I send my Quillbolt Hedgehog to the Graveyard to Special Summon – Quickdraw Synchron!" The gunslinging Tuner Quickdraw Synchron (700/700/5) took the field.

"Now, I play Quillbolt Hedgehog's ability, allowing me to Special Summon it to the field!" Alex called. Quillbolt Hedgehog (800/800/2) took the field next to Quickdraw.

"Next up, I Summon Junk Synchron!" Alex said. Junk Synchron (1300/500/3) took the field with the 'whir' that Alex was so familiar with.

"Now, Junk Synchron's ability activates, bringing back Speed Warrior!" Alex said. Speed Warrior (900/400/2) rose next to Junk Synchron.

"Now I tune Junk Synchron with Quillbolt Hedgehog to Synchro Summon – Junk Warrior!" Alex's favorite Synchro monster, Junk Warrior (2300/1300/5), rose triumphantly above his other two monsters.

"And thanks to my Warrior's ability, he gets an ATK boost from Speed Warrior!" Junk Warrior's ATK rose by 900 (2300 → 3200/1300/5).

"Next, my Quickdraw Synchron will tune with my Speed Warrior to Synchro Summon – Nitro Warrior!" Nitro Warrior (2800/1800/7) rose next to Junk Warrior.

"Now, I equip Junk Warrior with Junk Barrage! So now, every time he destroys a monster, you take half that monster's ATK as direct damage!"

"So go, Nitro Warrior, attack Dark End Dragon!" Nitro Warrior charged throug Dark End Dragon and slammed Kalin for 200 points. Alex: 4000; Kalin: 3800.

"Next, my Junk Warrior attacks your Void Ogre Dragon! Go, Scrap Fist!" Junk Warrior charged forward and shattered Void Ogre Dragon, dealing Kalin another 200 points.

"And don't forget about Junk Barrage!" Alex said. Junk Warrior flew into the air above Kalin and pointed his closed fists, raining down scarp metal directly on Kalin. Alex: 4000; Kalin: 2100.

"I end with a facedown!"

"I draw!" Kalin said. "And I'll start by laying one card facedown! Next, I play my Doom Dragon's ability, allowing me to destroy your Junk Warrior and deal damage to you equal to half its ATK!" Infernity Doom Dragon released a blast that shattered Junk Warrior and dealt Alex 1600 points of direct damage. Alex: 2400; Kalin: 2100.

"Now I play my Forbidden Chalice Spell Card, so I negate my Dragon's ability, and it gains 400 ATK!" Kalin's dragon began to move. "And since its ability's negated, I can still attack with it this turn!" Doom Dragon released another bolt that crashed through Nitro Warrior and dealt another 600 points to Alex. Alex: 1800; Kalin: 2100.

"My move!" Alex said. "And I activate Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw two cards!" Alex drew.

"Now, I activate my facedown! Go, Descending Lost Star!" Alex cried. "Return to me, Junk Warrior!" Junk Warrior (2300/1300 → 0/5 → 4) returned to the field.

"Now, I activate Star Changer, so I can return Warrior's level to 5!" Junk Warrior (2300/0/4 → 5)

"And to top things off, I'll activate Monster Reborn, allowing me to call back Junk Synchron!" Junk Synchron once again took the field.

"Now, Junk Synchron, tune with Junk Warrior to create the ultimate Junk monster – Junk Destroyer!" Junk Destroyer (2600/2500/8) took the field behind Alex with a bellow.

"Now Junk Destroyer, go! Tidal Sweep! Take out Infernity Doom Dragon!" Kalin shielded himself as his monster vanished.

"And now Junk Destroyer attacks you directly Kalin!" Alex cried. His heart fell. He'd won. He was about to send the man he'd come looking for to the point of no return.

"I remove from play the Necro Gardna I discarded on my first turn to negate your attack!" Kalin cried. Alex's heart soared. Kalin had saved himself! Outwardly however, he grit his teeth and spat.

"Your move, Kalin!"

"I draw!" Kalin said. He flipped a card out. "It seems the victor of this match has come down to fate, Alex. Go, Monster Reborn! I call forth a monster I discarded my first turn! Go, Infernity Randomizer!" Infernity Randomizer (0/0/1) floated to the center of the field, a barrel pointed at each Duelist.

"I play his ability! I draw!" He drew. "And it seems fate stands with me today Alex. I drew Infernity Destroyer. Level 6 means you take 1200 points of damage." Alex cried out as he was zapped. Alex: 600; Kalin: 2100.

"Now, I sacrifice my Randomizer to Summon Infernity Destroyer!" The man-beast Infernity Destroyer (2300/1000/6) took the field. "And I'll play one last card that I discarded my first turn. Go, Skill Successor! Give Infernity Destroyer the boost he needs!" Infernity Destroyer (2300 → 3100/1000/6).

"Infernity Destroyer, destroy Junk Destroyer!" The man-beast dropped to all fours and charged, obliterating Junk Destroyer. Alex: 100; Kalin: 2100.

"And now, Destroyer, activate your effect." Alex was dealt an additional 1600 points of damage. Alex: 0; Kalin: 2100.

"And he's off to the mine!" Someone yelled. Then Alex felt the shock round drive into his back and paralyze. He fell forward. He was loaded onto a cart. He could see Kalin fall to his knees. But Alex had planned for this. He had always intended to lose. Now he was off to follow in his father's footsteps. Time for a jail break.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: Hey y'all. Sorry for the long wait, but I got caught up in school stuff (my teachers all decided it would be a great quarter to completely screw me with projects), and then, low and behold, my computer hard drive fried! So I'm finally back. Here goes. Just in case you've forgotten, Alex just got sent to the mine after purposefully losing to Kalin. Jailbreak time!**

Chapter Seven: The Mine

Alex surveyed the scene around him. To be honest, it was pathetic. Everyone in the mine looked like they had given up. They were all hunched over, broken. The Miners stood guard at every exit to prevent the workers from escaping (Oh, the irony.). And now Alex had a hitch in his plan: he couldn't figure out how to break this damned collar. When his father had gotten into the mine, he'd broken the thing with a bad nail, but Alex wasn't so lucky to have such a thing.

So he had had to revert to plan B. Despite the collar, he'd already figured his way out. He knew if he faked exhaustion, they'd throw him in with a bunch of other workers and refuse to feed them. And it looked like that might be his only way out of this God-forsaken cavern.

So he did what he had to. After several hours of work, he fell to his knees and dropped the pick, doubled over.

Unfortunately, they didn't take kindly to loss of work - first they whipped him. Then, after that failed, they finally dragged him off to join the other "non-eaters."

They took him to a small cavern off the side of a tunnel and tossed him in a cage with several other workers. From outside and down the tunnel, he could smell what seemed like hot meat. It was just another part of the Miners' torture, putting them so close to their kitchen. However, it was also going to be their biggest mistake.

Alex had already planned for the cage: he'd pickpocketed the guard during the drag over (He never thought that that particular skill would pay off). He waited for the two guards that had brought him there to leave, leaving only the bleary-eyed guard that boredly patrolled the cages. Alex watched him roam among the cages, following no pattern. He finally passed by Alex's cage.

"Trash," he said. "Passed out already."

"That's what you think." Alex's eyes shot open from his feigned unconsciousness and he sprang toward the cage door which, to the guard's dismay, flew open as Alex hit it and barrelled straight through to tackle him. He wrestled the Miner to the ground and slammed his forehead into the bastard's nose, knocking him out cold. He pulled the guard's keys off his belt, and systematically went to each cage, unlocking them and helping the prisoners to their feet. They prisoners uttered 'thank you's as he went, each giving him a smile. Alex knew they were too weak to do much else.

After unlocking all the cages, Alex gathered the freed workers around him.

"Alright," he said. "First thing's first. You all need to eat, so let's go knock some Miner heads and get some food!"

Cheers erupted from the crowd. "Let's go!" They rushed out of the cavern and down the tunnel into the kitchen. With new life at the mention of food, the workers, led by Alex, quickly thrashed the few Miners that were in the small room and gathered at the food supply. Everybody paused, seemingly in awe of what they saw: Inside was all the food they needed. And they ate. All except for Alex, who knew they needed it more than he did.

That's when something caught his eye, hiding in the corner of the kitchen area was a person in a pink torn gown with brown hair and dark eyes.

"No. It can't be," Alex thought aloud, but he walked toward the form nonetheless. As he approached, his hopes grew. He came around the corner and looked down at the girl.

"Nico?"

She looked up. "Yes?"

Alex gathered the workers together. "Alright guys. I have a plan. But first, I'm going to need your help. Do any of you have any Duel Monster cards left with you?" A murmur ran through them. Then one by one, the freed workers began shuffling through their torn clothes, producing a card or two and passing them forward to place on the table in front of him. Alex smiled as he realized that a deck was slowly being built in front of him.

Then he heard a small voice from behind him. "Alex?"

He turned to see Nico, holding a single card. "Here."

"Thank you," Alex said, looking at the card. He placed it with the others and smiled at her.

Nico had told him how she had ended up in the kitchen, and he had immediately wished she hadn't. The Miners had decided she was good for things other than working. Alex shuddered at the thought.

He returned to looking at the cards slowly assembling in front of him. As the last of the cards were placed down on the table. He picked them up and fanned them out, before putting them in a single stack. It would have to do.

"Alright guys, here's what I want you to do...," Alex began.

Alex walked with a determined stride into the cavern. "Which one of you is the leader around here?"

The Miners' gazes all turned to him. "Well?"

"That'd be me," said a bulky man. "And what do you want?"

"Freedom," Alex said.

The man laughed. "Guys, take this punk down."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Alex replied smoothly. On cue, the remaining workers sprang out of tunnels and placed shock guns they had looted off the unconscious bodies of the Miners in the kitchen to the heads of the other Miners.

"So, Chief - Can I call you Chief? - hows 'bout we make this interesting? We Duel. I win, every worker is set loose. You win, life goes back to normal."

"That's got nothing in it for me!"

"Except that if you don't Duel, my men will send shock blasts into the heads of every one of your crew."

"Fine, let's do this!" Chief said.

"Just what I wanted to hear!" One of the workers tossed Alex a duel disk that he strapped on his arm.

"I don't think the draw is necessary! I'll make the first move! Draw!" Chief surveyed his hand. "I Summon Wattgiraffe!"

**Wattgiraffe (1200/100/4)**

A miniature giraffe materialized across from Alex, lightning bolts sparking from its hooves as it stomped the ground.

"I'll place two facedowns, and end my turn."

"Draw!" Alex said, whipping a card out of his disk.

"I'll open up by Summoning Speed Warrior!"

**Speed Warrior (900/400/2)**

The warrior materialized in front of Alex.

"And get this, on the turn Speed Warrior is Summoned, his attack points double!"

**Speed Warrior (900 - 1800/400/2)**

"Now Speed Warrior, attack Wattgiraffe! Supersonic Slash!" Speed Warrior rushed forward and spun around with one leg raised, slicing his foot through Wattgiraffe, shattering it. Alex: 4000; Chief: 3400.

"I'll place two cards facedown, and that's all she wrote."

"My move! Draw!" Chief called. "And you're all out of luck."

"I activate my first facedown, Wattkeeper. With it, I revive my Wattgiraffe out of the Graveyard." The small giraffe rose once more.

"Now, I Summon my Wattbetta."

**Wattbetta (100/100/2)**

"Now Wattbeta, give Wattgiraffe a tune-up! I Synchro Summon Wattchimera!" A multi-colored chimera rose from the tuning rings, giving a roar.

**Wattchimera (1400/1200/6)**

"Now Wattchimera, attack!" The beast lunged forward, its mouth igniting with electricity.

"And did I mention that Wattchimera can attack you directly?" The chimera passed over Speed Warrior and released the blast of lightning directly into Alex's chest. Alex cried out as the burst of electricity sent jolts up and down his body. Alex: 2600; Chief: 3400.

"I end my turn."

"My move. Draw!"

"I change Speed Warrior to Defense Mode and end my turn." Alex said. He didn't have much else to do. He had four monsters in his hand, but that wouldn't much help now. He knew the Watt archetype, and knew that many of them could attack directly. And since none of them could take out Wattchimera, he didn't want to burn any more monsters.

"Then I'll go! Draw!"

"I play my other facedown! Discord! With this, neither of us can Synchro Summon for three turns!" Alex grit his teeth. Not good.

"Next I'll Summon my Wattwoodpecker."

A little bird with an electrified beak rose onto the field.

**Wattwoodpecker (1000/100/3)**

"And then, I'll play my Stop Defense Spell Card to change your Speed Warrior to Attack Mode."

_Shit._

"And now, Wattchimera! Direct Attack!" Alex cried out as another bolt of lightning crashed through him. "And now Wattwoodpecker, attack Speed Warrior!" Speed Warrior exploded as the bird pecked him.

"And now his ability kicks in, allowing him to attack again!" The bird shocked Alex with his beak, sending more jolts through him.

"And now I'll defer to you." Alex: 100; Chief: 3400.

"Draw." Alex surveyed his hand. He had one chance, and it wasn't a good one, even by his standards. But hey, you gotta do what you gotta do.

"I activate Graceful Charity, allowing me to draw three cards and discard two!" He discarded Quillbolt Hedgehog and Level Eater. "Next, I Summon Marauding Captain and with his effect, I Summon Quick-Span Knight!"

**Marauding Captain (1200/400/3)**

**Quick-Span Knight (1000/800/3)**

"Now, I'll Release my Marauding Captain to Special Summon my Turret Warrior. And since I tributed Marauding Captain, Turret Warrior gets his Attack Points added onto his own."

**Turret Warrior (2500/2000/5)**

"I now Activate the effect of Quillbolt Hedgehog, allowing me to revive him from the graveyard.

**Quillbolt Hedgehog (800/800/2)**

"And then, I'll reduce the level of my Turret Warrior by one to revive my Level Eater!"

**Level Eater (600/0/1)**

**Turret Warrior (2500/2000/ 5 - 4)**

"Now, I tune Quick-Span Knight with Turret Warrior and Quillbolt Hedgehog to Synchro Summon -," he shot a glance at Nico, who smiled at him, "- Naturia Leodrake!" The great flower-maned lion emerged onto the field.

**Naturia Leodrake (3000/1800/9)**

"And now, it's time to activate my second facedown! Go, Last Turn! With this trap, I choose one monster on my side of the field, and then you Special Summon any monster from your deck! After that, they battle, and whoever takes Battle Damage loses the Duel! And I choose my Naturia Leodrake!"

"And I will select my Wattfox!"

**Wattfox (800/100/2)**

"Then it seems you're out of luck!" Alex said victoriously.

"I disagree! Because as our monsters battle, I have another card to play! It's known as Honest, and by discarding it from my hand, my Wattfox gains ATK equal to your Leodrake's ATK!" Chief cried.

Wattfox's ATK counted up, and it crashed through Leodrake. It continued on, charging forward with lightning bolts coursing over it. It smashed into Alex, smothering him in a burst of smoke. The workers all winced or hung their heads. Their champion had failed. It was back to the mines for them. And they knew the cost of rebelling. Whippings, no food, and worse.

But when the smoke cleared, Alex stood with a cocky half-smile on his face. His second trap now face-up.

"Sorry, but you really are out of luck. I activated my second facedown, a trap known as Dimension Wall. So now, any Battle Damage I would have taken is redirected at you."

"But that means -," Chief began, a horrified look on his face.

"You lose," Alex finished.

Alex watched as the workers filed out of the mine into the open sun. Nico stood by his side. She nudged him. "You did it."

"Not yet." Alex replied stoically, his blue eyes hard.

Nico gave him a curious look.

"There's still the town. And the most important thing: There's still Kalin. I need him right now. I need him to be the Kalin Kessler that saved Crash Town. It's time to save Satisfaction town from itself."


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: So, Alex is pretty sick. If I do say so myself. I mean seriously. He kicks ass. So much ass. Yeah. Moving on, I still love Kalin. Cuz he's a boss. I even use an Infernity deck because of him. Of course, I also use a Blackwing, Synchro, Cyber, and Hero deck…anyway, moving on. Alex is a boss. And now he's gonna save Crash Town. Again.**

Chapter 8:

The Face of the Enemy

Part 1: The Messenger

Alex was hot. Really hot. Like, scorching hot. No seriously, like, I'm-gonna-freaking-die-of-heat-stroke-out-in-this-goddamn-sun hot. That about summed it up. He and the other workers were on the outskirts of Crash Town in the middle of the day. Nobody in town had noticed the small camp on the cliff by the town. And Alex sat alone. He was staring at the town, his feet dangling over the edge of the rise. He had already picked out Kalin's house. And he had no doubts that that was where Kalin was.

Alex examined himself and laughed. He looked so out of place. He still wore his Academy coat and his black gloves. His hair still looked half-brushed. He looked like a city kid.

And here he was half-way to hell in the middle of the desert. Leading a group of refugees, even. Alex shook his head. The one thing that put him here was the revolver-disk that he casually spun on his finger.

Someone else walked up behind him. He turned his head to look over his shoulder and saw a man that looked in his mid-20s.

"Hey, kid. I just wanted to say thanks for, you know, saving all of us," he said.

Alex turned his head back toward town.

"Don't thank me, yet. If we can't take back the town, we're all back to the mine," Alex said, staring solemnly at the small Western town.

"And to do that, I'm gonna need some help from an old friend."

The sky was dark when Alex slipped into town. He sneaked down the dusty streets toward the South side of town, where Kalin's house was. He didn't bother knocking this time. He picked the lock. Something his dad had picked up on the streets of Satellite and had taught him. He pushed open the door slowly and shut it quietly shut it behind him.

He flipped on the light. "Kalin!" he hissed. Kalin woke with a start.

"What in the – ? Alex?" He stuttered. "But you're – you – I sent you –."

"To the mine? I know. That was my plan from the beginning. And now I need your help Kalin. The workers are free. And now this town needs its old hero back," Alex said.

Kalin turned away from Alex. "I told you Alex. That hero doesn't exist anymore. Not since…"

"Nico's alive, Kalin."

Kalin spun around. "What?"

"She's at the camp with the other workers right now. But I need you to help me; we have to get our cards back. Mine, and those of all the other workers. We're retaking the town. But we can't do it without you, Kalin. Be strong. Be strong for Nico."

Kalin nodded, a new fire burning in his eyes. "Let's go Alex," Kalin said. They left the house and moved toward the city hall. Alex picked the lock. They slipped inside and Kalin led Alex toward the jail.

"This is where they keep the cards…," Kalin started. And then they both stopped dead. The lights flicked on, and they stood face-to-face with Sergio. Father of Nico and West, and leader of the Miners.

"I thought I'd find you here," Sergio said. "Come now, Alex. You didn't really think your little rebellion wouldn't reach my ears. You can't be that dull."

"Alright, you swine," Kalin growled. "How about we settle this like men. A duel. Us two vs. you and whoever you want to bring along."

"Deal," Sergio replied. "Oh, and we don't want to be unfair, so we will return Alex's deck for the time being."

Alex snatched the deck as Sergio handed in to him. He inspected it to make sure that none of the cards were tampered with. He looked through it, and none were, so he slid the deck into his disk and nodded.

"Let's get on with it then!" Sergio said.

Kalin and Alex stood on one side of the square, Sergio on the other.

"So who's your partner going to be Sergio?" Alex asked.

"Aha! Why don't we introduce him then? Come on out!" Sergio cried. From the building next to Sergio, a single form emerged. He came up next to Sergio.

"Ready…Dad."

"WEST?!" Kalin cried.

"In the flesh!" Sergio said. West turned his gaze to the floor. When he looked up, he wore an expression that Alex could read: _I'm sorry. _Alex stepped forward.

"Fine, then. Let's do this."

The two teams squared off. "Draw!" Sergio took the first move.

"I'll start by Summoning my Paladin of the Cursed Dragon in Attack Mode."

**Paladin of the Cursed Dragon (1900/1200/4)**

The dragon-riding zombie took flight over the square, ready for battle.

"Then, I'll place three cards facedown and end my turn."

"Then I'm up!" Kalin said. "And I'll start by activating Card Destruction!" The four duelists all discarded their hands and drew new cards, but Kalin wore a devious grin on his face when he drew his first card.

"And since I drew my Infernity Archfiend while I have no cards in my hand, I get to Special Summon it!" The fiend rose onto the field in Attack Mode.

**Infernity Archfiend (1800/1200/4)**

"And with its ability, I add my Infernity Necromancer to my hand! Now, I'll Summon my Necromancer!" The robe-wearing demon appeared next to Archfiend.

**Infernity Necromancer (0/2000/3)**

"Now, I'll activate Double Summon, which lets me Normal Summon an extra time this turn. And I'll Summon Infernity Avenger!" The pistol-wielding Avenger took the field next to his two counterparts.

**Infernity Avenger (0/0/1)**

"And now, to show you true power! I tune Infernity Necromancer, Infernity Archfiend, and Infernity Avenger together. Arise from the place between heaven and hell, arise from purgatory – Void Ogre Dragon!" The great dragon took flight over the field. Kalin smiled smugly.

"And I will place two cards facedown, thus emptying my hand, and end my turn."

"Which means it's my turn," West said. West was 27 now by Kalin's calculations, and he sounded a lot like his father.

"And I Summon my Turbo Rocket in Attack Mode," West said. Turbo Rocket took the field next to Sergio's Paladin.

**Turbo Rocket (0/0/2)**

"Next, since I summoned a monster this turn, I can Special Summon Turbo Booster," West continued. The second monster appeared on the field next to Turbo Rocket.

**Turbo Booster (0/0/1)**

"Now, I tune Turbo Rocket and Turbo Booster together to Synchro Summon – Turbo Cannon!" Turbo Cannon rose onto the field, sleek and white.

**Turbo Cannon (0/0/3)**

Now, I activate the Spell Monster Reborn," West said.

"No, you don't!" Kalin countered. "I play Void Ogre Dragon's ability, allowing me to negate your spell!"

"Indeed," West said. "In that case, I will equip my Cannon with two spell cards: Mist Body, which prevents him from being destroyed by battle, and Raregold Armor, which means he is the only monster you are allowed to attack."

Kalin was dumbfounded. This wasn't the West he knew. This was someone else. He had no spirit. No energy. He was just an empty shell of his former self.

"Now, I will play Turbo Cannon's ability. With it, I will destroy your Void Ogre Dragon, and deal damage to your Life Points equal to half its ATK," West said.

"I play my Hallowed Life Barrier Trap!" Kalin responded. "Which means my Life Points are untouchable for the remainder of the turn."

"In which case I will end my turn," West responded calmly.

"So it comes to me!" Alex said. "I Summon my Junk Synchron, and with its ability, I'll call back Speed Warrior from my Graveyard." The two warriors took the field side-by-side.

**Junk Synchron (1300/500/3)**

**Speed Warrior (900/400/2)**

"Now, I tune my Junk Synchron with my Speed Warrior to Synchro Summon – Junk Warrior!"

**Junk Warrior (2300/1300/5)**

"And now, I place two cards facedown. And that's all she wrote," Alex said.

"So it's back to me, it seems! Draw!" Sergio began. "I Summon my Plaguespreader Zombie!" The disgusting flesh sack appeared on the field.

**Plaguespreader Zombie (200/400/2)**

"Now, I tune Plaguespreader Zombie with Paladin of the Cursed Dragon! I Synchro Summon – Doomkaiser Dragon!" The zombified dragon took flight across from Junk Warrior.

"Now I think I've had enough of your Junk Warrior! I play Turbo Cannon's ability to destroy Junk Warrior!" Sergio said triumphantly.

"Wrong!" Alex said. "I play my Trap Card: Safe Zone! With this, my Junk Warrior can't be destroyed by battle or card effects, at the cost of being unable to attack you directly."

"Fine, then! You may have protected your Warrior, but you haven't protected your Life Points! Doomkaiser Dragon, attack Junk Warrior!" Sergio said. The zombie-dragon surged forward and crashed headlong into Junk Warrior's shield. And even though Junk Warrior emerged unscathed, Alex's Life Points took the hit; Alex/Kalin: 3900; Sergio/West: 4000.

"With that I will place a facedown card and end my turn," Sergio said.

"My move, then!" Kalin called.

"I Summon my Infernity Mirage!" A ghostly figure wearing a headdress took the field, smiling evilly.

**Infernity Mirage (0/0/1)**

"And get this! Since I have no cards in my hand, I can tribute my Mirage to Special Summon two Infernities back from the grave! So rise again, Infernity Necromancer, and Infernity Archfiend!" The two demons took the field side-by-side.

"Now my Archfiend's effect kicks in, which lets me add my Infernity Launcher to my hand," Kalin said.

"And now, I play Infernity Necromancer's ability, allowing me to once again call forth my Infernity Avenger!" The Tuner monster rose next to his two counterparts.

"Now, my three demons! Tune together! Become one! Rise forth, mighty Infernity Doom Dragon!" Kalin threw his hand into the air triumphantly as the enormous dragon took the field.

"And now I play Doom Dragon's ability! With it, I can destroy any monster on your side of the field! Doom Dragon, destroy Turbo Cannon!"

"I don't think so," Sergio said. "I play my Divine Wrath Trap Card. With this, not only is Turbo Cannon safe, but your Doom Dragon takes its place in the grave!" Kalin watched in horror as his dragon exploded into shards of light

Alex winced. Kalin was getting hit hard. He couldn't keep any monsters on the field.

"Unfortunately for you, I saw that one coming," Kalin said, a cocky smile on his face. "I play the effect of my Infernity Launcher spell. So by sending it to the graveyard, I can revive two Infernities. So come forth once more, Infernity Archfiend and Infernity Necromancer!" The two demons rose from the grave for a second time.

"Now I play Necromancer's ability! But I won't be reviving my Avenger this time. No, I'll be reviving my Infernity Doom Dragon!" The dragon rose triumphantly once again.

And I have a hunch that you won't be stopping its effect this time! Destroy Turbo Cannon!" Infernity Doom Dragon let loose a burst of black fire that engulfed Turbo Cannon, creating a massive explosion and a wall of smoke.

But when the smoke cleared, Turbo Cannon was still there.

"What?!" Alex and Kalin cried together.

"Sorry, guys. But while you were busy reveling in your dragon's power, I discarded my Effect Veiler, which means no such luck this time." Sergio said coolly.

Kalin grit his teeth. "Fine, then. I end my turn."

"So it's on to me, then," West said. "And I will play the effect of Turbo Cannon. With it, I will destroy Infernity Doom Dragon, and deal damage to you equal to half its ATK."

Kalin grit his teeth once again. Neither of them had cards that could stop Turbo Cannon this time. Turbo Cannon loaded up and fired, sending a burst of energy into Infernity Doom Dragon and shattering it into shards of light. The burst then continued into Kalin, exploding on contact.

"Ahhhhh!" Kalin cried out. Alex/Kalin: 2400; Sergio/West: 4000.

"I will change Turbo Cannon to Defense Mode, and end my turn."

"It's my move!" Alex said.

"Alright, maybe I can't destroy either of your monsters, but I can do some damage to you! I activate Stop Defense to change your Turbo Cannon back into Attack Mode." Alex said.

"And now, Junk Warrior, dish out some damage! Go, Scrap Fist!" Junk Warrior plunged toward Turbo Cannon, which turned to mist as Junk Warrior plunged through it, straight into West.

"Grrr…," West growled. Alex/Kalin: 2400; Sergio/West: 1700.

"Then I'm up," Sergio said. He drew. "And I'll play my facedown, Assault Mode Activate! With this I tribute my Doomkaiser Dragon and call forth the Ultimate Zombie! Rise forth, Doomkaiser Dragon/Assault Mode!" The massive dragon took flight over the field.

**Doomkaiser Dragon/Assault Mode (2900/2000/8)**

Then it happened. A black glow began to radiate off Sergio. Then a voice spoke, "Do it Sergio. Call forth the First Beast of the Fallen. Call forth the Messenger."

"Ahhhhhhh! I Summon Fallen Synchron!" A small orb of black light emerged onto the field, then slowly morphed in small demon with a wicked smile.

**Fallen Synchron (0/0/1)**

"I tune Fallen Synchron with Doomkaiser Dragon/Assault Mode!" The tuning ring appeared and Sergio's dragon became no more than a silhouette.

"The Fallen sends his regards. And asks me to deliver a message! Rise forth, Wolf Beast Cerberus, Messenger of the Fallen!" A black glow emanated around the field, and from it rose a new terror. A great creature stood there. It stood on two legs, but had the body of a dog. With three heads. In its right hand hung a great Morningstar, but rather than a single chain, the handle held three. At the tip of each chain was an iron ball covered in spikes.

Alex recoiled. He'd never heard of that monster before. But he knew exactly what it was. A minion of Yusei's 'higher power.' And so was Sergio. Alex regained his composure.

"Alright, let see what your Messenger has got!"

**Wolf Beast Cerberus, Messenger of the Fallen (0/0/9)**

"What the – no ATK points?" Kalin stuttered.

"Don't count on that," Alex replied.

"Indeed, Alex!" Sergio said, a horrific smile on his face. "You see, every time a monster is destroyed by an effect monster's effect, Cerberus gains ATK equal to the destroyed monster's ATK!

"So Kalin, let's see how your Infernity Archfiend likes a taste of Turbo Cannon! Go!" Another burst of energy fired from Turbo Cannon, incinerating Infernity Archfiend and burning away another 900 of Alex and Kalin's Life Points. Alex/Kalin: 1500; Sergio/West: 1700.

"But I'm not done! I play my next facedown: Pyro Clock of Destiny which accelerates the turn count by one. Thus, I can use my Turbo Cannon's ability a second time.

"But before I do that, I'll use my last facedown! It's known as Trap Stun, and it negates the effects of all other traps on the field. Which means your Safe Zone card is out of luck," Sergio cried triumphantly.

Alex's eyes went wide.

"And now, Turbo Cannon, destroy Junk Warrior!" Turbo Cannon's energy blast crashed through Junk Warrior and took another chunk out of Alex's and Kalin's Life Points. And gave Sergio's Cerberus another boost. Alex/Kalin: 350; Sergio/West: 1700.

Sergio laughed. "With both your monsters destroyed, my Messenger is up to 4100 ATK points! So now it will attack your Infernity Necromancer!" Cerberus's great triple Morningstar crashed through Necromancer. "And did I mention that my Messenger deals piercing damage?"

"Not this turn it doesn't," Kalin said. "I play my Iron Resolve Trap Card. So by paying half my Life Points, I take no battle damage this turn."

"It doesn't matter! On West's turn, it's all over!"

Sergio was right. When West attacked with Cerberus, it was game over.

"I draw," Kalin said solemnly. "And I end my turn."

"Then it's my move," West said. "Draw." West hesitated for a moment.

"What are you waiting for West? Finish them!" Sergio cried.

"Wolf Beast Cerberus –," West began.

"West, wait!" Kalin cried out.

"Huh?" West said.

"No, West! Do it. Do it now!" Sergio screamed.

"Don't, West! Remember who you are! Remember Yusei and me! Remember the town! Do you want to let the town become like that again!?"

"It already has…," West whispered.

"But you can change that!" Kalin said. "You can save this town! You can be the hero this time! Do it for me! Do it for the town! Do it for Nico!" The mention of his sister's name startled West. Kalin could see his indecision growing.

So Alex pitched in, "Nico's alive, West! She's at the refugee camp right now! If it weren't for her, I wouldn't be here! Be a hero like your sister, West! Save this town like she saved me!"

"My sister…saved you?" West asked.

"Yes, West! She gave me a card! Without it, I would still be in that mine! She still believes, West! Don't you?" Alex said.

That's when it happened. A new fire lit in West's eyes.

"I won't let this town go back to the way it was! I activate Turbo Cannon's ability! And my target is Wolf Beast Cerberus, Messenger of the Fallen!"

"What!?" Sergio screamed.

"Go, Turbo Cannon! Destroy it!" Turbo Cannon's guns went off and engulfed Cerberus in a blast of white light. Alex and Kalin cheered.

But when the smoke cleared, Cerberus was still there.

Sergio laughed. "Did you really think that my beast's greatest strength could be used against it? When a monster's effect would destroy Cerberus, that monster is destroyed instead!" Alex and Kalin recoiled as if they had been struck. West couldn't destroy it.

"I…I end my turn," West said, defeated.

Which meant it was down to Alex. One facedown card. And now Alex had to save them from a monster with more ATK than any monster in his deck. Alex took a deep breath. Showtime.

"I activate Monster Reincarnation! So by discarding one card from my hand, I can add my Junk Synchron back to my hand.

"Now, I Summon out my Synchron, and revive my Speed Warrior with his ability. Next, I play the effect of the card I discarded: Quillbolt Hedgehog! Which allows me to Special Summon it.

**Quillbolt Hedgehog (800/800/2)**

"Now, I play the effect of a card I discarded on Kalin's first turn: Level Eater. With this, I reduce the level of Quillbolt by one to Special Summon it.

**Level Eater (600/0/1)**

Now, I play the other facedown I played on my first turn: Graceful Revival! Which lets me revive one more monster out of my grave, another I discarded on Kalin's first turn: Turbo Synchron!

**Turbo Synchron (100/300/1)**

"Now, I activate Pot of Benevolence, allowing me to return Junk Warrior to my Extra Deck and Monster Reincarnation to my main deck.

"And now, I tune Junk Synchron with Speed Warrior to Synchro Summon Junk Warrior!" Junk Warrior leaped onto the field for the second time. And now my Warrior's ability kicks in increasing his ATK by the ATK of every Level 2 or lower monster on my field. Which means he gets boost from Quillbolt…

**Junk Warrior (2300 - 3100/1300/5)**

"Level Eater…

**Junk Warrior (3100 - 3700/1300/5)**

"And Turbo Synchron!"

** Junk Warrior (3700 - 3800/1300/5)**

"Ha! Too little, too late Alex! You're 300 points short!" Sergio laughed. But Alex still wore his smug smile.

"Not after I play this: the Fighting Spirit Equip Spell! With it, Junk Warrior gains 300 ATK for every monster on your field!"

**Junk Warrior (3800 - 4100/1300/5)**

"What's your point Alex? Even if you do manage to destroy my Beast, I'll crush your Synchron with this," Sergio said. He plucked a card from his hand and revealed it to Alex: Zombie Master.

"Unfortunately for you, Sergio, we're never going to make it to your turn," Alex said.

"What?" Sergio said.

"I have two more cards to play: I activate the Spell Card Mist Body, so my Junk Warrior can't be destroyed by battle. And now I activate Junk Barrage. So if Junk Warrior destroys a monster by battle, you take damage equal to half its ATK," Alex said.

"What!?" Sergio cried.

"So now Junk Warrior, attack!" Junk Warrior barreled forward, smashing into Cerberus and destroying it. Then he recoiled and flew upward. "Go, Junk Barrage!" Junk Warrior rained scrap metal down on Sergio.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!" Sergio screamed. Alex/Kalin: 125; Sergio/West: 0. Sergio and West both collapsed to the ground. Alex and Kalin ran forward, each cradling one of their opponents.

Sergio looked up at Alex. "I'm sorry, Alex. I didn't know what I was doing. But I see now. I hope you can forgive me. But I must tell you this: The Fallen is coming. Be…ready." And then he turned to dust.

Alex looked up and saw that Kalin no longer held anything in his arms either. Kalin closed his eyes to hold back tears. "No…," Kalin whispered. Then he looked up at Alex.

"What was that thing?" Kalin asked.

"A minion of The Fallen. Which is why I came here in the first place. The Signers are disappearing Kalin. And I need your help. I need you to join me. To help us fight back." Kalin nodded.

"I'll help you, Alex. Just like you helped me," Kalin said.

**Author's Note: Aaaaaaaaaand implied sex scene with Kalin and Nico. No jk.**


End file.
